arbinger
ORGANIZATION. EDUCATION, ELEVATION.
Vol. I.
Raleigh, N. C. Saturday, December 13. 1902.
No. 49
Mr
8T11IKB YOUU (1AIT.
Some men have splendid fortune in the
midst of all the strife
Which we must needs engage in as we
work our way through life.
While some of us are plodding, others
often pass us by
And leave us toiling onward, while to
meet success they fly. I
We marvel their good fortune and the
race thus quickly run
The treasures they have gathered and the
prizes they have won.
And yet we often notice that the man who
strikes his eait I
And holds it to the fiuish, always gets
there soon or late.
Though some caprice of fortune yields
great plenty to your friend,
Give little thought to envy. Run the
race unto the end.
TVi mpe is not the running for what
profit has the soul
That starting with rare fleetness, fails at
last to reach the goal ?
The laurel wreath is waiting for the man
who nobly tries, I
Though he may finish second to the one
who wins the prize.
How often do we notice that the man who
strikes his gait
And holds it to the finish, always gets
there soon or late.
t
Success will follow effort made by all
along the way
As surely as the shadows yield to lances
of the day.
Some may achieve it quickly through
some happy circumstance,
While others toil and struggle ere they
note its smiling glance.
For aye success is waiting with rewards
that seemeth sweet
For those who make haste slowly and for
others who are fleet.
And hence it is we notice that the man
who strikes his gait
a 1 tinlrta it to the finish, always gets
there soon or late.
WHY LABOR ORGANIZES.
James Lynch, of Beuows;Fails, Vt.,
IN THE AMERICAN FlrDE ATIONIST.
In accordance with the law of
cause and effect, every effect must
be the result of a cause, and as a
logical sequence, the effect pro
duced must be in direct propor
tion to the efficiency of the cause.
What, then, v e might ask, is
the cause, or rather series of
irh has led to the won-
VUUWM
derfully increased growth of or
ganized labor in recent years ?
That this increase has been phe-
nomenal, is a matter which ad
mits of no doubt.
Chief among those causes, un
questionably, is the birth of new
economic conditions, created by
those combinations of capital
known as trusts. They have, by
increasing the cost of living and
at the same time keeping wages
stationary, if not reducing them,
compelled the working man to
seek protection in organization.
i hey nave. awaKcucu mm num
his pleasant slumbers of security,
they have taught him that unity
of effort is vitally essential to nis
well being, aye, that it is essen
tial to his very existence as a free
man. v. .
With a zeal which might prove
' beneficial .to humanity were it ex
erted; in a better cause, trust ad
vocates try to show the working
man what superlatively beautiful
things they are, and bow they
are calculated - to promote his
interests.
. They are wasting breath. A
lew Visits to me uuLtiicia ui
grocers' shops will do more to
convince the workingman of the
; real meaning of the. trusts to him,
than all. the ; graceful rhetoric or
subtle logic their ablest expon.
ents can advance. The trusts'
motto is economy in production,
and even though it results in a and has to a large extent succeed
diminution of prosperity for the ed in eradicating the sweatshops
workingman. I which are a blot on our present
They are not very sensitive on
that point ; it seemingly is no con-
cern of theirs. But let them pon- workingman of today is a radi-11 important question, lhesug
der and weih current events, 'cally different individual from ' gestion has many friends, some
Recent happenings in connection
with the anthracite strike should
have taught them a lesson it
would be well for them not to for
get that, in the final test, the
supreme power inheres not in
the classes, but in the masses.
Is not there something as silly
as it is impotent in the efforts
which many employers of today
make to disrupt labor organiza-
tions? They will not or cannot
see that they are chiefly responsi-
ble for the formation of organized
labor bodies, because they have
brought about conditions which
compel men to organize.
They cannot deny the funda
mental right of labor to organize,
yet on every possible occasion
they seek to destroy labor unions.
They would render inoperative
the law of cause and effect. Let
them pause.
If labsr organizations are not
entirely suited to certain employ
ers' taste, let the employers re
move the cause that lead to or
ganization. With a solicitude which would
be commendable were it altogeth
er above suspicion, some employ
ers will plead for the inalienable
right of a man to work wherever
he likes at his own price, and
when it suits their purpose, will
not hesitate to deprive men of
that same right, by the establish-1
ment ot a DiacK-nsc or me iu-.
ance of an injunction.
Trade unionist do not deny
that a man has an inherent right
to work where he will and atLfWfLvc Wcf.f
what price he will, but they have!
- . . i
very grave doubts as to whether
a man, perfectly willing to par
ticipate in all the advantages ac
cruing to workingmen as the le
sult of organization, is, at the
same time, morally justified in
staying outside the organization
which secured better wages and
conditions.
Some people would seem to
have a very vague idea of what
organized labor is today striving
for, or what it has done to im
prove the conditions of the work
ingman. ;
The goal toward which organ
ized labor is to-day fighting its
way is, as Samuel Gompers has
so ably expressed it
to obtain for the workingman the
greatest amount of prosperity that
would be consistent with the in
dustrial and commercial prosperi
ty, of the country.
Is not this a cause as indisput
ably just as it is worthy of the
bf st energies of mankind to at
tain. As to what organized labor
has accomplished, it is safe to say,
that it has done more to amelior
ate the condition of the workers
than all other causes combined.
It has secured for them the re
peal of , laws, the ; injustice of
which was only equalled by their
absurdity; it has consistently
fought against industrial slavery
civilization
"Knowledge is
power.
The
the workingman of fifty or even
twenty years ago,
The word of
Burns
If I were made to be
a slave and serve
my fellow-kind
Why was an independent wishe'er plant
ed in my mind ?
are constantly recurring to him.'
. . . . . to ,
He feels that it is not good to be
a slave. He feels that in the
j struggle for independence in
i modern industrial life, keenness
of intdlect is far more valuable
Lhan strength of inusciej and
j accordingly he seeks to educate
himself.
History teaches him that labor
organizations in one form or an
other have been in existence for
over five hundred years, and he
need not be possessed of any un
usual perceptive powers to enable
him to realize that no institution
ever fashioned by human hands
could exist for such a length of
time were it not 0f sonie real prac-
tical value to the members of
which it was compesed.
Experience teaches him that if i
he is d sirous of any substantial
improvement in his condition, he
will invariably have to seek it'
from some source other than the 1
mere good will of his employer.
Common sense teaches him that
the more harmonious the rela-!
tions between employer and em
ploye, the pleasanter and more
profitable it will be for both,
hence he is not over-anxious to.
be involved in a strike unless it
ue a ' necessity.
He is becoming better educated,
i
the future Organized labor is i
teaching him unselfishness, that
unselfishness which is at the root
of all that is noblest in human
nature. It is teaching men that
the day has gone uy when wo k
men should be actuated sole'y by
selfish aims, and that the day has
arrived when they should be wil
ling to stand shoulder to shoulder
and fight for each
other's rights.
CURE FOR HYDROPHOBIA.
The Leipsic German Journal
publishes the following antidote
for the bite of a mad dog, which
it says was an exclusive socret
with a Saxon forester, but who,
growing old, was unwilling to let
it die with him, and, therefore,
procured its publication. He is
said to have used it for fifteen
years, and rescued many human
beings and cattle from the fearful
death of hydrophobia. . The anti
dote : Take immediately tepid
water ; wash the wound clean
therewith, and then dry. it ; . then
pour upon the wound a few drops
of hydrochloric acid, ,' because
mineral acids , destroy the poison
of the saliva, by which means the
latter is neutralized.
Ten per cent of English trade
union shipbuilders are out ,of
work.
GOVERNMENT COAL
MINES.
S. LEITCH, IN THE AMERICAN
FEDER ATIONIST.
For sake of argument, let us
aunnt government coal mines as
few of them honest, the larger
number si'iiply that unthinking
multitude caught by pleasant
phrases and pseudo radicalism.
Government ownership of coal
mines would mean, in its full
.,'
shib of coal miners
I The post office department is
often quoted as a"n object lesson,
and post office employes have
their own grievance. They are
vet looking for some loon-hole to'
j o r
squeeze through a remedy with-
out facing a charge of high trea
son. Should a carrier go on
strike and picket his route to
persuade others from taking his
place, yoii can see the carrier's
finish, not in five months, but in
about five1 minutes, and he will
be fortunate in escaping five
years in the pen."
Those iwho point with pride
to government conduct of the
postal business, should also recall
the Idaho bull-penn horrors,
showing how the government
can run a mine. Had the same
power controlled the anthracite
district of Pennsylvania during
the past year, there would have
been no strike, no miners' unions,
and no necessity for a wearisome
arbitration ; but there would have
been the most despotic slavery
of human beings and a wonder
ful strutting of poppycock offici
aldon in gold lace and red pin
feathers. It is very easy for government
ownership advocates to saythat
mlnersshallbePaid good wages
'. frr irrlnf l-innrc mrlr an 'tlif
' coal be sold at cost. T he argu-
meut is catchy, but fallacious.
What is "good wages?" Ques
tioned on this subject, a laborer
answered that he thought "$2.50
but
j a day was good enough for any
I man." A professional gentleman
states that he "can not see how
any self-respecting American
citizen can live well, raise a fam
ily, and maintain an easy mind,
on less than $5,000 a year." Here
is a wide difference. Certainly
the miners should receive the
best wages, if we consider the
the danger and labor attending
his occupation ; yet the major
portion of the fruits of his toil
go to "sweaters," who pilfer the
difference between the cost of
mining the coal and theprice of
the coal mined, and to those smug
New England Puritans who
"own" the coal lands and draw
dividends stained with the blood
of human beings who have died
in the black pits, and frightened
with the curses of children whose
shrunken bodies and warped
minds represent the rights of in
vested capital. And the remedy
for all this shall be, a change to
official chattel slavery.
: Anent this, a wealthy New
York philanthropist and reform
er says:
I worked one day of my life in a mine,
and it was enough. I have a'ways
thought those men should be paid twice
as much as those who work above ground
in God's sunlight, and I for one am wil
ling to have the price ot coal doubled if
I can only be sure the increase goes into
their pockets.
Very kind of him ! But there
are thousands who will not, and
thousands who can not, pay dou
ble price- And it is a passing
strange fact that these worthy
gentlemen who are so willing to
dole out charity to the miner are
his most bitter opponents in mat
ters of common justice.
They pity the poor miner, but
the weight of their benevolent
influence is always cast in the
balance with the vampire"! brood
of middlemen and sweaters who
fatten their vile carcasses off the
sweat of the mine workers' faces.
In this question there is one
fact so simple that all intelligent
men concede its truth that the
coal lands belong to the whole
people.
The coal is the property of all
the people. The only issue is:
How shall it be mined and dis
tributed to the best advantage?
Advocates of the present system
contend that competition, and
supply and demand, regulate
everything properly, and are the
best means of distributing the
products to the people, who now
pay only cost price that is, coi t
of labor, carriage, inteligent super
vision, and a fair return fox capi
tal invested. This may be true,
under certain conditions. It is a
noticeable fact that some people
can see more colors in a rainbow
than others.
The present system of run
ning the mines, it must be
admitted, is neither to the bene
fit of the public nor to that of
the coal miner. To an impaitial
observer it would seem that these
two are the parties directly inter
ested in the matter.
It is doubtful if the govern
ment could run the mines any
better for the p:ople, and certain
ly it would run them much worse
for the miner. For the legal
fiction that a coterie of officials
at Washington are "the people"
is the basis upon which our gov
ernment-ownership friends argue.
It is a beautiful dream, like the
fairy tales of our youthful days,
with about as much substance
as the froth on last summer's beer.
But all the talk of government
ownership and operation, why
not try the experiment of letting
the miners run their own busi
ness without intermeddling- of
tinkers, tailors, and official sa
traps? The coal lands belong
to the people. For the public
good they can be taken, leased
to the miners' union under cer
tain restrictions, so that the in
terest of the people shall be safe
guarded. ms would answer
the purpose much better than
government ownership, which
would be but changing one evi
tor a worse. Lrive the miners
good wages- for they themselves
would be the interpreters of that
term and supply a public neces
sity at cost of production and
carriage, with the assurance that !
the "profits" go into the pockets
of the men who earn them.
It is not necessary here to go
into a lengthy statement histori
cal, legal, or "detail" phase. The
miners, through the government,
can easily pay fair valuation to
present "owners', minus the
watered stock and take meas
ures to control the carriage, and
establishment of depots in princi
pal cities. This is merely a sug
gestion without frills.
Meanwhile, I notice that those
who favor bureaucratic schemes
are eager to exempt their own
particular line from bayonet rule,
which leads one to believe that
they advocate Government own
ership and operation, like boils,
"as a good thing on someone
else."
SHORTER HOURS.
At New York, "Shorter hours"
and the "restriction of output"
were the subjects before Tues
day's session of the National Civic
Federation. Grover Cleveland,
Abraham S. Hewitt, President
Eliot, Rev. W. S. Rainsford and
John B. McDonald were among
the well known present in addi
tion to those who had attended
Monday's meeting. Mr. Cleve
land was on hand early in the
morning and there was applause
for him. At the afternoon ses
sion he came in without any
demonstration on the part of the
audience. The-exPresident left
the room with Oscar Strauss,
vice president of the federation,
before the close of the session.
He made no address.
Professor John R. Commons
spoke of the union at the morn
ing session as an effort to inter-
ere at one or more points with
the liberty of the employer in
conducting: his business. What
was needed was mutual under
standing; and mutual concessions
between employer and employes.
Professor George Gunton of
this city said that the laborer
was more needed as a citizen and
consumer than he was as a
producer. The professor asked
why men who organized a $1,-
500,000,000 corporation could
not organize, say, the iron indus
try, so as to have the hours of
labor in that industry reduced
by fifteen minutes a day every
six months until an eight-hour
basis was reached. That, he
said, would be good economics.
Lewis Nixon said that his sym
pathy with the working man in
the matter of shorter hours has
cost him from $40,000 to $50,000
a year for the last several years,
but he considered the money well
expended.
Labor papers do more organ
ing than any paid organizer.
They educate the whole people
in the principles involved, con
fining them to no particular class
or kind, placing all upon one
broad plain of equality.
EARNED IT, IN CHICAGO.
"How did he ever get the title
of "Hon.?" :'y
"He declined a nomination for
alderman once," Chicago Trib
une . . ;.; -. ,