Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-04-16
EDITORIAL DIGEST

That is all there is of the open SHOP
reasoning, but the defense of the citi
zen's liberty in this regard, and the
principle that there should be thr
same rule for employers and EN-
ployed, lies at the very foundation o.
American liberty" In taking issue
with this argument the New Haven
Journal Courier independently insists
"a declaration in favor of the opeL
shop, justified under certain conditions
labor as a whole. An equally absurd
thing would be to declare against
consolidated capital or against any
other human effort, not lawless in
character. undertaken to better condi-
lions in life. Whatever DISSATISFIED
ton remains between capital and
labor in their daily relations, its
remedy is not to be sought in d re
turn to an abandoned view Of the
problem. but in evolution to which
both contribute voluntarily or under
friction. The rights of capital end
where the rights of labor begin, or
vice versa, just as the rights of ont
individual end where the rights OF
another individual begins" Even SO.
the Durham Sun independent demo
cratic) suggests "the closed shop viii!
have a hard time before the people If
a strike shall be put forward as it
ideal" To make this question az
issue, however. the Boston Herald
cult, inasmuch as there is still agri-
culture in the United States; there is
no perceptible union movement on
the farms. In the cities, where from
a quarter to a third Of those gain
fully employed are in clerical WORK
of one kind or another, the open shop
is not an issue. If this is true. it will
be difficult to make the open shop the
chief issue of the Forthcoming cam
paign. Unless, within the next year
l lty9rr III rRE-TV
the anti-social use of power by ths
unions. the open shop can scarcelN
arouse the discussion necessary to
make it 'headliner'"
Regardless of whether the principle
is sound economically, the st. Joseph
News-Press independently agrees "it
would be bad politics to write it iIitn
party platform, as it would need
lessly antagonize organized labor.
Writers of party platforms do not
need give himself no further concern
upon this score" Whether the Pres
ident would admit such plank into
any PLATFORM for him or not. the
lieves "it is a sure thing that the
large majority Of his supporters and
the financial hackers of his party are
staunch believers in this doctrine.
The question is not a. political one.
and is not. therefore. a subject for
economic one, to be decided by the
common sentiment of the employer
and the employe. Any attempt to
control the right of the citizen to or
ganize for any legitimate purpose
would be resented, not alone by labor,
but by fairly unanimous public SEN
timent."
THE injection of the labor issue
into the national campaign by the re-
publicans would be a tremendous mis-
take in more ways than one" insists
the Burlington Free Press Gnde-
pendent). In the first place the re-
publicans have invariably deprecated
any move by manual workers to form
a political organization of their own.
or even to flock to any particular
political party, especially the demo
Gratis. They rightly urged that this
movement would tend to foment class
warfare. We suspect a plank of the
nature indicated would not get far in
a committee on resolutions at the
next republican national convention"
Inasmuch as the antagonism of the
railway and coal strikes has not yet
been forgotten, the Scranton Times
(republfcan agrees with this latter
statement, pointing out that with
this lesson in mind we cannot con-
ceive that the practical politicians in
the Harding camp will permit his be-
ing burdened with an open shop
plank in the platform"