The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-09-05

tain prescribed stages In practical work
and attend afternoon and evening
schools to learn the technical side 81
his trade. These schools are run by thu
Lefty for the express purpose Of aiding
in the development Of first-class work
men. SO the city, the employers and
| the unions are working In conjunction
! with one another TO make ALL around
mechanics
"That being necessary in other
trades, it IL more 20 in the highly
4 skilled trade Of granite cutting. Lathes
I surfacing machines, carborundum saws,
and dental saws merely reproduce the
/ work Of the granite cutter, and this
must be done BY the skill Of hand and
eye Of the operator That skill can be
most properly developed through learn
ing the trade Of granite editing The
plan proposed by the employers is d
backward step. A progressive move
will be along the lines taken by yari~
Gus trades In New York City, and there
will be no hesitation on the part Of
the G. G. |. a. In cooperating III ey-
cry way to aid such move.
Finally, we come to that final rel
quirement Of the employers the non
union shop. BY the irony Of fate as
Jim Duncan would say the most
vociferous advocate Of the non union
shop never employed union man and
he Is doing all he can to organize the
retail monumental dealers. We are
more consistent that he,. because we
will do all we can do legitimately to-
aid in the organization Of employers.
The principle Of mutual aid has been
the important factor in evolution. Men
are benefited individually through as
ISOLATION with Others Through helping
others they help themselves.
How 4 man can accept this princi
pie for himself and his group Of asso
ciates, and deny il to other groups Is
strange. Stone working il one Of the
oldest trades In the world, and the or
ganization Of stone workers is among
the Oldest in the world. Whether i'll
was in the building Of cathedrals 10
awe future generations with their dig
nifty and beauty, Or in the cutting Of
hieroglyphies to tell the story Of van
ished nations, the stone worker was
there and his association in some form
was with him.
Now, our friend tells us in 1922,
that our organizations must 90. There
isn't man here who doesn't know
what non-union conditions will mean
To stone workers. Last year employers
decided wages ought 70 be cut 81 per
day. Without the unions this would
have been done, and in another few |
months another cut would have been in |
evidence. Down, down to the level Of |
bare subsistence wages would have |
gone with corresponding lowering in
sanitary standards In the seventies |
prior to the formal ion Of our union, a
man was given stone and diagram
with the price marked on IL. The man
either had to cut the stone at that I
price or 20. Don't let any man be de-
ceived by this talk Of good man get
ting his price always. Within five years
I have known frst-class carver to
work for $3.50 per day under non.un
ion conditions And within the same
period | have known non-union men
who never knew what their week Il
wages would be until they were paid L
1.-THE effect Of non-union conditions
on labor ii well understood, but it APP
pears that the effect on the employer
and on the industry Il mot 50 well un
derstood. Some employers are foolish
enough to believe larger profits to
would come out Of the non
union shop, What mistake. In
loosely organized, highly competitive
industry, the employer will be the loser
under non union conditions. Wage rates
will be a constantly shifting equation
fixed only by the momentary needs Of
labor. the demand for men and by the
greed. shrewdness and harshness OF the
employer. The employer who wants 10
treat his employees fairly ought not TO
be deceived by the propaganda being
handed out now. Under non-union con
litions, the most grasping and shrewd
employer will set the pace and all oth-
rs must conduct their business in
similar fashion, or go under If the
lgitators among employers succeed in
heir plans, they will demoralize the in
lustry The employers will suffer as
veil as their employees.
"An industry lying PROSTATE. Men
Who once were friends now enemies
Afen, women and children making sacri
Ices Employers so blinded with preiu
lice and passion, that they are ruin
ng their business. What in Gods
lame is it all aboutg Is there any good
eason, any justification for its There
s not single reason under the sun
which viii justify employers in the
tand they have taken. The labor or
anizations in the granite industry
ave been extremely conservative. We
emand as our right the best conditions
he industry can afford. We are en-
tiled to that. The answer has been
CELEBRATE. unprovoked, assault in an
fort to destroy.
The attempt viii fail. Signs indi.
ate return 10 sanity on the part of
Employers. But whether the end come
BON or be long delayed. there can be
o faltering We are ready to meet the
Employers any time, ready to shake
ands and forget, to do all We can to
ake the industry prosper but it must
; as union men in a collective agree
ent
"Men and women. the issue is plain.
is not question of unionism and
on-unionism II is question of liv-
e. Better homes. better babies. bet
r men and women. Statistics show
st the infant death rate is highest
nong those people who receive the