Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1922-03-03

principles ! had laid down were
sound even though the unions didn't
always carry them out as should be.
| felt quite happy; when anybody
pats you on the back like that II
makes you feel good. Then old Kill
joy came along-great big fellow.
Il want to shake hands with you,
Frey. That is a fine talk you made;
that was great; | am in agreement
with you on your principles, but you
are like all these labor fellows, you
don't discuss the vital question. You
think we are entitled 10 public sup
port. You know why you don't get
il, you are not honest with US. You
establish your wage rates and we
have To pay those wage rates wheth-
er a man Is worth it or not. am
building a little house with union
men around the job, not because l
want them particularly, but the con.
tractor hired union men--sOme OF
them fine mechanics and some OF
them can't drive nail straight,
some good workers, work steady, and
some of them don't want TO work at
all. Before the public has any con-
| fdence in your trade union move
ment you will have TO classify your
members. You have no right to es-
tabish a union without this. Say
this mans a No. !, this in class b.
this in class c, ETC., then we will have
confidence in your cause, then we
will know what we are getting. ! am
doctor by profession"
And he shook his head at me as
though | was dumb. | couldn't let
that go by. ] says, Let me reason
you have studied so long you receive
diploma. Every man in your class,
the poorest one of the whole lot, re-
ceiyes the same diploma. just the
same in our union we all have the
same union card. Then when you
are given permission TO go out and
practice medicine, you join the Med
zeal Association. The members OF
the Medical Association know who
the highly skilled physicians are and
TO trust with a sick headache---
they know the physicians it is not
safe to trust with a sick headache
Perhaps you We're accidentally right
in your idea of why don't you classify
your members. When we go to this
physician we are not only paying
money for work but we are putting
our health into their hands. Why
don't the physician put over his dooi
guaranteed or Class G, or Glass X
lY or BIZ"
Never thought of that. You I'M
derstand how long the Medical As
sociations would last if they tried to
classify their members.
Now, | want to analyze thought
or two. We were told that the
unions were unsound because there
was very unfortunate difference OF
opinion between the miners of Hi
nois, Kansas and some other states
and President Lewis of the Miners
Union. That is unfortunate, but |
dan't say it is any indication of UNI
soundness in trade unions. | dare
say you have differences among the
churches here in this city. AT least,
in this country there have been some
differences in matters of creed. We
have many different denominations
who are not in agreement with each
other Is that any evidence that the
church is unsound? | don't think it
is. 1t is true that all of the officers
of trade unions have net been honest
| men. We have also unfortunately
come in contact with that type of EN-
| ployer who believes in bribing so he
can take advantage of the other fell
lows. The place for a dishonest mar
in business, is the penitentiary.
From the statistics / gathered
some time ago from the federal au-
thorities the percentage of trade
union officials in Jail doesn't COM
pare with the percentage of bankers
who are in Jail and in the peniten-
tiary. However, these are unim-
portant things, and are entirely out
of the question.
But it stirs something within me
| that words cannot express when
hear the intimation that labor--that
the trades union movement--was not
| loyal during the war. So far as the
federal statistics are concerned (and
we may depend upon them), they
show that during the war period, the
average advance in the trade unions
in this country was 81 per cent, while
the cost of living went up Tor to give
you the figures: the unions wages
/
to lS7, while the cost of living went
up to 202. So labor did not profiteer
| during the war. The increase which
we met in all we bought during the
war was not due to increase in wages
which the laborer received, it was due
to the opportunity which the open
shoppers had to try the same thing
and work it on the public, that they
work ON their non-union men today
take advantage of them.
But, about our patriotism: In
March, 1917, there was a gathering
of officers of trade unions il Wash.
ington to determine what our atti.
tude should be if our government en-,
tered into the war, and at that meet.
ing we pledged ourselves to our gov
eminent to do everything which la,
| within our power to support the gov
ernmeat if it entered into the war.
| personally know that President vii
/ son needed that assurance from the
| organized trade union movement OF
| the United States before he felt il
safe to go before congress as he die
! just three weeks later and declared
that condition of war existed. TIL,
American trade union movement
pledged its united support to the gov
eminent during the period of the
war, and when the time came that The
allies were in need of greater
strength, when it looked as though
general strikes, pro-German propa.
ganda, etc, in Great Britain, Frame,
and Italy would weaken the indus
trial part of the world, the govern
ments of Great Britain, France an,
Italy demanded that Samuel Com
pers be sent over to their countrie,
for the purpose of putting more en-