The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1946-12-13

1
Il opinion against organized labor ha
II been whipped up by both the pres
II and the radio. This has been acutel,
H so since the coal miners laid dow
H their tools on Nov. 20. Even the worl
H of delegates to the peace conference
H being held in New York was RELOCATED
| to second place by the nations grea
II newspapers and the radio commenta
II tors. I notice that so far, all reports
Il dealing with the coal strike and Other
1 labor disturbances have, while uni
II versally condemning the workers
placed no blame upon the employers
for their attitude toward the matters
in controversy. For example: the Sar
Francisco Chronicle published long
editorial TRADE bitterly denouncing
i labor for the general strike in the
/ neighboring city of Oakland, but care
| fully avoided mention of the fact that
the strike was brought on by certain
| Oakland businessmen who, with aid
| from the city. authorities, brought in
| truck-loads of strike-breakers (scabs)
to take the places of workers who
were struggling for a betterment of
their wage and working conditions
The capitalist mouthpieces who so
fluently damn John L. Lewis and the
mineworkers, do not inform the public
that due to stubbornness and greed
of the mine owners, the miners have
had no contract with them for over
nine months and that as a con-
sequence, the government has operat-
ed the mines under seizure since last
May. AS an old time mine worker, l
have known John L. Lewis for many
years, and know from experience the
rotten conditions under which the
miners live and work. | know too,
what every person with first-hand in
| formation knows, that not excepting
even the railroads, the coal industry
has been the worst managed business
of importance in this nation. All the
yowling and yapping of those who are
trying to inflame the public mind
against labor unions is the prelude to /
an attempt by capitalism to destroy |
them. 1t is identical with what was |
done following World War | when
membership of the A. F. of L. was |
reduced nearly one half and many of
it's constituent unions were so weak
ened that they became practically |
without effect as protectors Of labor's
rights.
1t seems Incredible, yet it is true
that capitalism not only believes in
unionism, but is itself organized into
One Big Union, the National Associa-
ton of Manufacturers, comprising all II
of the nations large industries, with
the single exception of the Ford
Motor Co. Capitalism has another /
union wholly subseryient to it, namely I
the U. S. Chamber of Commerce /
which reaches into every sizeable 1
and probably takes in your q
local grocer. Capitalism, under the ex-
listing system, perhaps rightly claims &
the privilege to organize ITSELF but \
denies that privilege to the C
wage earners, the latter comprising all e
grades of hired manual and mental 7
workers and from whose labors it's t
profits must come. d
Originally the labor unions had no e
place in the system of free enterprise. I
Had the system worked with fairness,
and had those in control behaved hon
sstly, there would have been little real /
iced for labor to organize. However, {
neither of those conditions ever ac- Il
ually existed. Labor unionism was a v
necessary result of an imperfect eco c
ionic system, operated pretty gen. IL
rally by men who sought only self e
at the expense of those b
Who produced and consumed the pro- u
Iucts of their plants. d
In the early days of our country the ii
main industry was agriculture; land fC
vas plentiful and accessible to all. m
The mechanical arts and crafts were BIZ
racticed on small scale, and on the
asis of individual effort and use. The e.
Id time mechanic could readily ac- pi
uire the simple and inexpensive tools al
eeded for following his trade in his Sc
wn small workshop. 1t was not CAPT Ell
al, but skill that he required. But re
,ithin the last few generations III
iitHL itNOiublOil ldhtH place. W
ur methods Of producing and dis m
ributing wealth. The modest work CT
hop of our grandfathers had grown la
lto the immense modern factory al
nder whose roof hundreds, sometimes CT
thousands of workers are engaged in fc
)int labor 81
No one, so far as | know, disputes OF
he fact that the substitution of al
power for muscle power nj
Tas great boon to humanity The ly
reat machines which turn out the til
lings wanted and needed by our III
odern type of civilization are the be
ssults not of money alone, but of pu
Of money inventive
enius, scientific study and human tn
Dor, and without the latter all the ar
hers would be useless. Discovery of FRI
-eat deposits of coal, iron ore and ar
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES MISREPRESENTATION