Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1921-01-21
WAR o. oRoANtxEo
CAPITAL AGAINST The
WORKING PEOPLE
5s Senator Robert ~. - Feiiette, In
- Foilsttess Magazine


country are 10 be smashed. The decree
has been entered. The orders have
been issued. The drive l. on.
The railroad corporations. the street
car companies. the other public nth
tiles: the big industrial corporations,
the coal. copper. and oil combinations.
the affiliated commercial aud imam
cial groups--ihe merchants and man-
iufaetnrers' associations. the chambers
of commerce. boards Of trade. hank
ers' associations and In fact all large
liuter~related organizations represent
ing capital are mohilixing for war
of determination on all labor organ
nations In the United States.
The object Is two-foid. First OF all.
organized capital would destroy or
ganized labor because OF It's growing
political power. The activity Of the
sixteen railroad organizations and
their alliance with associations or
/ farmers in the late campaigns Is a
real menace to the political control
Of Big Business in the near future
Second. organized capital would de-
stroy organized labor in order to
deprive the wage Garner of the col.
lective bargaining strength which he
AatAaF1e lAoAt us VI haR
would leave him in a position where.
as one OF the representatives OF a
large business concern recently de-
claired-"The employee would have
to eat out OF the employers hand"
! Already the Kept Press OF these
masters OF business and government
| of propaganda 20 poison its MINI
/ aax.sf he # he hos
Trust"
This war on labor organizations.
is TO be waged upon the hypocritical
protense that Il is for the individual
freedom OF the wage Garner"
The open Shop" Is To be the
slogan II is an alluring battle cry, II
suggests liberty. II breathes the Amer
lean spirit. II Is good dope for gulls.
The "Open Shop. II recalls "open
Covenants openly" etc.
And that reminds Us that we have
Just finished with war. throughout
which lot OF people believe In. and
were thrilled by the slogan that we
were fighting to make the world safe
for democracy"
| And now We are 10 fire the heart
OF the nation with o war for the
open Shop.
Behold the real leadership OF this
army as IL IL marshalled to fight the
Labor Trust" Here we should have
the imposing figure OF General
lGary--United States Steel. He win be
an admirable selection for "Comman
der-in- Chief
He. wears the laurels won In the
recent steel strike where he succeed
ed In maintaining the open Shop"
for the Steel Corporation and It's
right to work sixty nine thousand of
Its men twelve hours a day.
| Seventy thousand Of the Corpor-
atoms men receive the lowest wage,
or common labor pay.
One-half OF all employees Of this
corporation work twelve hours o day
and one-half OF these men are re.
! quired to work seven days a week.
| The annual earnings OF more than
onethird OF all productive iron and
steel workers are and for years have
been below the level set by govern
ment experts as the minimum OF sub.
sistence standard for families OF five.
There you have the Open Shop"
and all that goes with IL in a steel
mill which Is akin 10 the bottomless
| pit,
| DO you marvel that the u. s. Steel
| Corporation resists with bludgeon
and bayonet every attempt on the,
part OF the employees to secure the
right to bargain collectively for bet
ter hours and wages?
| Do you not see why this corpor.
alton and all It's kind are determined
to crush labor organizations. estab-
fish the open Shop and arbitrarily
deal with helpless employees individ
ually?
There are today more than five |
million wage earners in the ranks OF
organized labor. This means popu-
| lation Of some twenty million-it may
be twenty-five million dependent. for
homes, fuel, food clothing, medical |
attendance, to say nothing OF the
needs of their spiritual liyes--depend-
ent upon the wages of these workers !
within the ranks Of organized lahoE
And IL IS against these people, a |
necessary and vital part of our po-
litical and social life, that a ruthless |
war Is to be made
The mills and shops and factories |
are closing down, they are to be
starved into withdrawing from their |
organizations and will be re-employed |
when they are hungry enough to &C.
cept wages at and "below the level |
set by government experts as the min
| imum subsistence standard for fami-
lies of five" I
That is what the United States Steel
and open Shop" industry, pays to /
more than one-third of all its pro. |
ducefye iron and steel workers.
How is this TO AFFECT the small |
trades people and the farmers who
sell food and. supplies to these mil
lions?
And after organized labor has been |
broken and crushed what of the or
ganized farmers? They. too, are a |
political menace TO organized capital |
They are manifestly organized to re-
sist exploitation at the hands OF Big !
Business.
Through combinations declared un.
lawful by the Sherman Act these Big |
Business Trusts have suppressed com |
petition, acquired monopoly control /
OF prices, squeezed the farmers. plum |