The mirror., 1921-12-01
THE OPEN SHOP


1t not bring to the mind a story OF GER
tain man called Judas and thirty pieces of
silver? What became of these old men?
Many of them joined the trainmen and
went to work under new schedule. Some
of them formed another switchmen's union
and kept it secret, but we find a good
many of them tied up with the so-called
Outlaw r. r. strike in Chicago and other
cities in 1920, and we find today when
the country is on the verge of another
general strike that these men are but bid
>ing their time and waiting for the order
that will allow them to step into the places
of men who took their jobs away back in
19O9-1O. And they call this brotherhood
There is not much to be said for the
group of radical leaders or camouhaged
Reds who year or so ago tried to or
ganize the steel men into a general walk
out. The refusal of the large majority of
the men involved showed the spirit of true
Americanism that would not subject itself
to dictation from men who had absolutely
no interest in their work or were in no
way connected with it, either as stock
holders in the steel corporation or as ex-
perienced steel workers. Much has been
said and written on the so-called, soulless
corporations who will not tolerate trade
unions or organizations, but in two years
time that have worked for one of these
corporations and lived in model city,
owned and operated by them, where
everything was done for the worker,
where social community houses and clubs
were established, where the spirit of free
dom and good fellowship was encouraged,
where ambition was fostered and aided by
night schools, where sometimes the heads
of the plant could be found teaching those
who were seeking knowledge, the only
things that were lacking were dissension
and strife calsed no doubt by the absence
of labor organizations We find today
that the contented worker, and the success
full employer are those who are in no
way connected with labor organizations.
Everyone knows of Henry Ford and that
wonderful factory of his. And now Henry
has purchased and is operating railroad
where the men are paid 40 per cent over
the regular r. r. wages and it is reported
that they do twice as much work. Such
things can be done where labor agitators
are conspicuous by their absence.
Now friends let us compare the people
of this nation in the late war with those
who saw the Republic through its first
struggle for freedom; and incidentally for
the open shop. We read that the people
were united solidly, there were no fac
tional differences to speak of. Rich and
poor alike literally beat their plows into
swords to help in the great war of the
Revolution. How did the people of this
nation respond to the need of the country
in the late war? AS individuals they did
well, most of them. But when the need
was greatest, when Congress and the
President urged every man to do his
duty, the Labor chiefs and agitators
got busy, and the cry went forth among
the organized workers that now was the
time to strike, the country would have
to come across or there would be no war
for democracy. And Congress cowed by
fear of losing the labor vote passed the
AdamsOn r. r. law.
Imagine an eight hour working law for
the men who were living in peace and
plenty while the soldiers in France were up
to their neck in mud and facing bullets,
not eight hours day but twenty-four. The
actions of the organized trade unions at
such time could be likened to nothing so
much as powerful young man who would
strike his mother while she lay upon bed
of pain. The labor chiefs at that time
wrote the darkest blot upon the history of