Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1922-03-02
Organized Labor Is The Organized
Fighting Force For All Workers
(by Congressman Huddleston)

Following the, address of President
Harding to the new Congress early in
December, Congressman Huddleston,
from Alabama replied to the labor sec.
tons of the Presidents speech. Or
gained Labor's place I'm the economic
struggle is vigorously set forth and
also the position of railway employees
Mr.. Huddleston said IN part: take
the text for what / shall say from the
address of the President, delivered an
hour ago in the Chamber.---.'
Unions Are Workers Fighting
Force
What the President had to say was
by its terms aimed at organized labor,
I hold no brief for organized labor,
l am interested more in organized la
Dor than unorganized labor merely be-
cause organized labor is the organized
fighting force of all labor. 1t is like
the army that goes to the front and
into the trenches to defend the women
and children back at home. Never was
a battle fought by organized labor
that the humblest unorganized toiler
did not receive some benefit from it.
Never was sacrifice made by labor
organizations that was not made on
behalf of unorganized men as much as
for themselves. And for the same reas-
on it is true that never was there a
labor hater who wanted to grind down
men who toll, who regarded them as
belonging to an inferior social order,
who wanted to Cypress all laborers be-
cause they were laborers, who did
not fight labor organizations fully con-
scious that when once he had destroyed
the organizations, unorganized labor
would fall an easy victim. When
nation sends its soldiers to battle they
are not sent against noncombatant
and peaceful citizens at home in the
enemy country.
The first principle OF military STRAIT
egg is to seek out and destroy the
armed forces of the enemy" In the
World War we sent OUR armies to do
battle with the German armies, with
the organized forces fighting for Ger
many. We did not concern ourselves
so much with what happened in the
homes of Germany, because we real
lied that once we destroyed the Ger
man armies the peaceable inhabitants
at home would submit. And so every
employer who wants cheap labor, who
wants to Cypress labor, who wants to
make an unjust profit out of labor
every man who believes in differences
in social orders, every man who be-
longs to the employer class and rec
ognizes his duty to his class and value
of the solidarity of his class takes off
his coat and goes down to do battle
with organized labor lAhd this in
stance of the Presidents attack by in
direct methods upon the efficiency of
labor organizations is, in my judgment
an apt illustration of this principle of
strategy.
We all love a good fight. We. like
to see man fight, whether he be an
employer or a worker. A real good
fighter always commands our admira-
ton. But every man who is himself
brave loves fair fight. We want to
see the fighters on equal terms. We
want to see both sides have an equal
chance.
We want to see the fight come at a
time when both can stand on equal
footing. As between workers and en-
ployers, fights can never be altogether
fair fights. Each side in labor fight
has different things at stake. With
an employer it is matter, perhaps, OF
some more bank shares a finer home.
perhaps marble palace instead of one
of brick.It is merely matter of anoth-
er limousine or another cluster of jew
els for his wife and another aigrette
in her bonnet. 1t is merely matter
of profits from his plant. Oh, it is not
such an awfu!ly important matter
with the employer. But with the man
who tolls his bread is he stake.
The struggle between the employer
and employee can never be a fair fight.
One has in the scale only question
of profits. The other has the means OF
existence for his wife and children at
stake. To one the result means one
thing; to the other it means shelter
and food and clothes and medicine for
his family; it means the color of his
child's cheek and, perhaps, whether
it shall live or die.
Workers Do Not Like
To Fight
Such a fight can never be fair
fight. Yet when conditions are even
fairly equal, when there is measure
of prosperity in the country, when
there is some opportunity for the EN-
ployment when it may be said that
there is a chance for the worker to
win, then you you may have certain
admiration for the hard-handed en-
ployer who goes down into fight