The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-02-25
By Mary Heatou worse.

The demonstration of 10000 memb
ers of the Amalgamated Clothing Work
ers gathered together In Madison Square
Garden showed what they thought a
bout the attack made ON them few
days before by. the manufacturers. The
manufacturers had applied 60 the courts
for the dissolution" of the organi4a
tion, 1t had applied on the ground that
the organization object was "the
taking over" of the clothing industry
l arrived at the Garden few minues
late. Outside a row Of police were lined
up. No more people could come in; the
place was packed already. Here WAS as
sembled the industry the tailors to-
gether with the cutters, the shirt max
ers, the makers of boys clothing. They
were all there But although they lined
the place from top to bottom, they re-
presented only fraction Of the work
ers in New York City.
It was a jolt to see the Industry
there before ones eyes. Rows on rows
of men and women up to the highest
gallery. From the speakers platform
a sea of faces. This is an expression
which has had its features worn off
from over usage since the day it was
fresh minted; and yet there is no other
phrase that comes as aptly, looking
down at them ~
One says glibly enough that the In
dustry in New York comprises $4,000
people. It comes off the tongue like
the multiplication table. But look into
the faces of some nineteen thousand
people and you get another vision. Sud
denly you translate from figures into
terms of men and women, city full of
them, and of the lives dependent upsn
them.
Now almost all these people were Idle.
They were suffering the rigors of a
lockout because a little group of people
sitting in an office, led by men who
were not even employers, had decided
on a lockout. That was the story told
by DR.. William M. Leiserson. And now
this. same group was trying to- destroy
this great organizations whose members
had so lately emerged from the sweat
shop and whose only safeguard aginst
the return TO the sweatshop days was
that organization.
Sixty-five thousand people kept from
work.. $4,000 people threatened with the
loss Of what was most precious in their
economic lives, to suit a HANDFUL of ir-
responsible men.
Consider the terrible: charge againss
the Amalgamated. 1t has been accused
of desiring that the workers should
own the tools of their trade and receive
the full product Of their labor. What a
shocking idea! An industry run for
service instead of for profits. Call out
the pOlieei
But no one need worry. Tie. tailops
in New York-the Amalgamated' Cloth
ing Workerps-are not planning to
"take over the industry. 1t is the
bosses who are advertising the idea
they are advertising the idea very
widely. Why, some day if they keep Oh
advertising the notion of the workers
owning the industry, it might get intc
the workers heads. And once such q
bee got lodged there, it might keer
buzzing around and buzzing around. Il.
And the very best way 10 advertise
such horrible thing is for a fttlt
group of employers to attack an organi
zation which has had the praise Of every
labor student of this country for it.
progressive and constructive policies
The very best way to advertise the idec
of the workers owning the industry i.
for little group of employers to try
to plunge a whole industry into sweat
shop conditions. 1t seems irrational t
do such q thing to attack the Amalgan
ated Clothing Workers, but peopl,
when they are frightened do irrationa
things. The great thing they fear is tn,
unity of the workers. For when ther,