Evening star., 1922-09-03
Causes of the Unrest Today
In Ranks of American Labor

for the perpetuation and glory of our
republic.
The Course to Have Followed.
Every necessary readjustment follow
ing the abnormal period of the war
could have been made by joint nego-'
tiation between employers and en-
ployes, and many such readjustments
have been made. If employers had
sought to make none but reasonable
and proper readjustments, and if in
every case there had been frank con-
sultation with the workers. our indus
trial life could have been brought
forward to a normal condition with
scarcely more than a ripple on the
surface.
The great disturbances have been in
those industries where employers have
sought arbitrarily to impose unjusti-
fable terms and conditions of en-
ployment. and where, therefore, it
was necessary for the workers to
resist.
If, on the other hand. the workers
OF the United States had acceded to
every demand of employers, and had
accepted every proposed wage reduc-
tion and every proposed deterioration
of working conditions, we might tenn
porarily have had a condition which
on the surface would appear to be
peaceful II not prosperous, but We
should have had at the bottom a con-
dition Of slavery. the Inevitable result
OF which In the end would be up
lent and more costly than ANYTHING
we care to contemplate.
ine american worker has fixed in
his mind the idea of progress. II 10
MS great discrimination that there
aaaain snadi De some Improvement with each
ter than today, and the day after to-
morrow must be better than tomor-
row.
The great masses of American
workers are fred with an ambition
that will not even give thought to
retrogression. This is the great
blessing of our country.
No Peasant Psycholoey.
Amrica has never had a peasantry
and it has never had a proIetariat. 1t
has never had among its workers the
psychology resulting, from fixed
status among large classes Of people
Naturally. those who think in terms
of money and profit have no under
standing of what this means. They
do not understand that American
workers do not meekly accept autoc-
ract of any kind. They will not be
driven! Only those who know work
/ lng people can understand.
This initiative. this ambition, this
lack of the psychology of the peas
antry and the proletariat Is priced
above all by those managers Of in
dustry who are progressive, whose
ideals are democratic and whose pur-
pose in industry is primarily a pur-
pose to serve. knowing full well that
service must bring its rewards in
profits.
II has been said by some employers
, and by some Of the spokesmen of en-
ployers that labor unions exist for the
purpose of ifap 6urating strikes, and
| that labor leaders like to have strikes
/ because they would lose their jobs IL
there were no strikes. suppose these
statements are actually believed by a
| few persons, and perhaps they are
sincereIy uttered by few.
Nothing could be further from the
truth. The chief sufferers In times OF
strikes are the workers themselves.
when they are without work they are
| inevitably without wages. No work
ers ever go on strike because they do
not like wages, and neither do any
workers extr 60 on strike for the
purpose a. drawing strike benefit
that occasionally amounts to as much
as q dollar q days and that seldom u