Evening star., 1937-03-08
The New Epoch in Steel
1t Could Never Happen, Unionizing the Industry,
, But 1t Has.

trade union organization Is the most
conservative program which any one
can adopt in this country today" That
Is my belief.
At the center of all our political
discussion. whether 1t is the issue Of
union organization or the issue of the
Supreme Court. is the conception Of
property, Of what constitutes private
property. And that conception is
changing. all over the world. The idea
of the defense Of property is the basis
of our Constitution, and even the rad
icals Of their day, men like Jefferson,
recognized 1t, nor did they wish TO de-
stroy the idea Of private property as a
right. because they realized, and, I
think correctly, that the widespread
distribution Of private property is a
condition Of successful democracy.
But II this is true. then one must, for
the very sake Of the idea of property,
extend its meaning to include the only
property which the majority Of people
in this democracy, now at the height
Of a machine and industrial civiliza-
ton, have-their jobs. We must rec
ognize that the worker has property
right in his job.
Moral VS.. Legal Rights.
I have never felt. for instance.
that the argument against the sit
| down strike, on the ground of its being
an offense against property rights,
was altogether valid. For that argu-
! hot ct hal
and management have property rights
in an industry. Legally, no doubt,
that is still true. But cannot see
| it as a moral issue.
| The argument against the sit-down
! strike, which seems to me really
tenable. and important. is that it is
a technique which permits a small
group Of workers to coerce. possibly,
a ma jority. The removal of coercive
practices from employer -employe re-
lationship is the first constructive
way to answer this argument. For
II workers have an unquestionable
right to organize into independent
unions, If that is generally accepted
in industry as fundamental, then the
quid pro quo which labor owes is TO
use the means of reason, persuasion
and appeals to personal and group
interest which trade unionism offers,
rather than the coercive weapon
| Elevate Union Status.
Opposition TO trade unionism has
often centered in the accusation that
the trade unions are rackets. run by
racketeers for racketeers. and at the
expense Of workers as well as en-
ployers. 1t has many times been true
But I think that the history Of the
labor struggle in all countries indi-
Gates that when the trade unions lack
status, either with employers or be-
fore the law. when they are pushec
into the gutter. they tend to adopi
the manners of the gutter.
Proud, responsible and honest trad,
union leadership. unions which have
extended their activities to include
the cultural education of the workers
flourish in those countries wher'
; trade unions have been lifted from
an outcast position and established a.
an integral part of industry, theoreti
cally respected and taken for granted
If we are moving now toward sucl
new status. and can expect some
thing of the same results: if the day
of espionage, injunctions, privat'
: police, private detective agencies, fur
nishing thugs to both sides, are
actually. beginning to be numbered
: then every member Of the public car
be thankful. And patience is a rea
sonable counsel.
In the matter OF the working re
.: lationship between capital and labor
this country has been the mos
anarchic in the Western world. w
will not establish order overnight.
tCopyrisht. 1879