effort at rearing and training her boys. The war in Europe has been grasped at by the (Yunkers) Militarists' wing of this country, to extend their Military ideas and put this country on Military Bureaucratic basis. The great financial interests having noted the very intelligent growth and organization of Labor have begun to fear the loss of their power to filch Labor out of the greater part of his due and have been casting round for a means of subduing Labor and enforcing obedience to the employers' dictation, and are willing to use any means to conserve the ends they are seeking. We have just had an example of the results of their efforts in the State of New York in saddling upon the citizens of that State a set of Military conscription laws to all appearances equal to the Yunker Militarist system in many parts of Europe. Anything to subdue Labor and make it submit to the will and dictates of Capital. To the initiated and wise ones the policies of the National Association of Manufacturers have been considered very narrow and seemingly limited to the few who were of one mind (AntiLabor). The general narrowness of the leaders precluded the possibility of making the N. A. M. a dependable institution where broad mindedness could be given a free hand, and policies in accordance therewith promulgated. This narrowness has until now held full sway and the little heads with small brains have been the champion swimmers in the pool. However, from the reports of the meeting of the N. A. M., recently held in New York, the trees that have been stunted in their growth in the shallow soil from some mysterious source seem to have been fertilized and have injected into them a serum, the germs of which if they are allowed to live will spell progress along broad comprehensive lines, eliminating the narrow, selfish one-sidedness that has heretofore been the motive power governing the heretofore N. A. M. We feel free to say that if such is the future policy of the N. A. M. the Association will grow into a very respectable and useful instrument for the welfare of the general business men, because men of broad minds, with humane souls and advanced business ideas will get into control, and the shriveled up, dried up, and live-but-let-not-live squibs will be relegated to the scrap pile. The very fact that progressive thought is now assuming life in the association is proof that the N. A. M. finds the narrowgauge policy is a failure in an American institution, and that to live and be useful they must lay down a broad-gauge track and put broad-gauged engineers in charge. The seeming single end of the N. A. M. has been to combat Organized Labor and stop its growth. You might just as well try to stop an alfalfa field from growing by cutting it, because the more you cut it the deeper go the roots. The exposure of the filthy methods in the political plans of the N. A. M. some time since, under the Kirby administration, did more to wake up the few good broad heads that were left as members of it, to the realization of the fact that to live, something must be done at once before the cancerous growth hit a vital spot. If the N. A. M. will sheath its sword and pull down its black flag, relegate the Ku Klux Klan to the scrap heap, they can become a power for the good of the business man, and Labor will welcome them into the field, where the right of liberty and the pursuit of happiness are being contended for. The N. A. M. as a business men's institution, with the broad-gauge principles and broad minded men at the helm is as certain of success as an American institution as the sun rises in the morning. Organized Labor and organized employers can co-operate along healthful lines in contractual relations just as well as not, and in the end the best interests of both will be better served. Whereas the Ku Klux Klan policy heretofore observed will advance the interests of neither and bring the N. A. M into further disrepute. Get the label habit. In Memoriam. WHEREAS, It has pleased Almighty God in His all-seeing wisdom to take to Himself our esteemed and beloved brother member, Mr. Albert Draker, May 3, 1916. We mourn his loss and humbly submit our pleasure to the will of Him who can but do well; therefore be it Resolved, That Local No. 48 extend their sincerest sympathy to the bereaved wife and children and mother in their sorrow, not to mention our own deepest feeling and regret, and that our charter be draped in mourning for a period of thirty days; be it further Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the bereaved family of Mr. Albert Draker, a copy sent to the International Headquarters for publication and a copy spread upon the minutes of the following meeting. President, JOHN HUESTON, REPORT OF BASIL M. MANLY. Continued from page 7 ganization is empowered to exercise, with provision for heavy penalties if its corporate powers are exceeded. "c. Specific provision against the accumulation of funds by the compounding of expended income, and against the expenditure in any one year of more than 10 per cent. of the principal. "d. Rigid inspection of the finances as regards both investment and expenditure of funds. "e. Complete publicity through open reports to the proper Government officials. "f. Provision that no line of work which is not specifically and directly mentioned in the articles of incorporation, shall be entered upon without the unanimous consent and approval of the board of trustees, nor unless Congress is directly informed of such intention through communication to the Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Senate, which shall be duly published in the Congressional Record, nor until six months after such intention has been declared. "2. Provision by Congress for the thorough investigation, by a special Committee or Commission, of all endowed institutions, both secular and religious, whose property holdings or income exceeds a moderate amount. The Committee or Commission should be given full power to compel the production of books and papers and the attendance and testimony of witnesses. It should be authorized and directed to investigate not only the finances of such institutions, but all their activities and affiliations. "3. As the only effective means of counteracting the influence of the foundations, as long as they are permitted to exist, consists in the activities of Governmental agencies along similar lines, the appropriations of the Federal Government for education and social service should be correspondingly increased." Discussing the difficulties that confront wage earners in collecting labor claims and securing redress for minor grievances, the report recommends the establishment either by States or Municipalities of Industrial courts similar to those which have proved to be successful in European countries. It also recommends that commissioners of labor or the industrial commissions of the several States should be directed to prosecute such claims vigorously. UNIONS AND THE LAW. Discussing the legal status of trade unions and the law relating to industrial disputes, the report says: "2. The general effect of the decisions of American courts, has been to restrict the activities of labor organizations and deprive them of their most effective weapons, namely, the boycott and the power of picketing, while on the other hand the weapons of employers, namely the power of arbitrary discharge, of blacklisting, and of bringing in strikebreakers, have been maintained and legislative attempts to restrict the employers' powers have generally been declared unconstitutional by the courts. Furthermore, an additional weapon has been placed in the hands of the employers by many courts in the form of sweeping injunctions, which render punishable acts which would otherwise be legal, and also result in effect in depriving the workers of the right to jury trial. "3. Important steps have been taken to deal with this situation by the enactment of the Clayton Act, applying to the Federal jurisdiction, and by the passage of laws in Massachusetts and New York which define the rights of parties engaged in industrial disputes. The actual effect of the Clayton Act cannot be ascertained until it has been tested in the courts, but eminent legal authorities have expressed grave doubts that it will accomplish the desired results. At any rate, it does not seem to remove the existing injustice, and, furthermore, in all the States except New York and Massachusetts the grave and uncertain situation already described exists. This situation must be corrected. URGES ENGLISH ACT. "4. There are, apparently, only two lines of action possible: First, to restrict the rights and powers of the employers to correspond in substance to the powers and rights now allowed to trade unions, and second, to remove all restrictions which now prevent the freedom of action of both parties to industrial disputes, retaining only the ordinary civil and criminal restraints for the preservation of life, property, and the public peace. The first method has been tried repeatedly and has failed absolutely, not only because of the intervention of the courts but because the very nature of the acts complained of on the part of employers (blacklisting and arbitrary discharge) makes it impossible to prevent them effectively by any form of legislation or administration. The only method therefore seems to be the removal of all restrictions upon both parties, thus legalizing the strike, the lockout, the boycott, the blacklist, the bringing in of strikebreakers, and peaceful picketing. This has been most successfully accomplished by the British Trades Disputes Act, which is the result of fifty years of legal evolution, and in its present form seems to work as successfully as could possibly be expected. "It is suggested, therefore, that the Commission recommend: "1. The enactment by Congress and the States of legislation embodying the principles contained in the British Trade Disputes Act." VIOLENCE. Of violence in labor disputes the report says: "2. Violence is seldom, if ever, spontaneous, but arises from a conviction that fundamental rights are denied and that peaceful methods of adjustment cannot be used. The sole exception seems to lie in the situation where, intoxicated with power, the stronger party to the dispute relies upon force to suppress the weaker. "3. The arbitrary suppression of violence by force produces only resentment which will rekindle into greater violence when opportunity offers. Violence can be prevented only by removing the causes of violence; industrial peace can only rest upon industrial justice. "4. The origin of violence in connection with industrial disputes can usually be traced to the conditions prevailing in the particular industry in times of peace, or to arbitrary action on the part of Governmental officials which infringes on what are conceived to be fundamental rights. Violence and disorder during actual outbreaks usually result from oppressive conditions that have obtained in a particular shop or factory or in a particular industry. Throughout history where a people or a group have been arbitrarily denied rights which they conceived to be theirs, reaction has been inevitable. Violence is a natural form of protest against injustice. "5. Violence in industrial disputes is not immediately the product of industrial conditions, but of the attitude of the parties to the dispute after grievances or demands have been presented. The principal sources of an attitude leading to violence are: "a. Arrogance on the part of the stronger party. This may result immediately in violence through the use of force for the suppression of the weaker party. "The force used may be physical or industrial. Physical force may be and is used by both employers and employes, through intimidation, assaults or attacks on property. Such physical aggression is seldom used by employes, as they are strategically the weaker party and the results are negative; only under exceptional circumstances can an employer be coerced by the use of force or intimidation. The exceptions seem to lie in the use of secret means, such as dynamite, with the object of weakening the employer's resistance. "The use of force by workers is normally directed against the person or property of the employer, but against strikebreakers and guards. Many instances of the use of physical force by the agents of employers have, however, come before the Commission, indicating a relatively wide use, particularly in isolated communities. Such acts of violence usually take the form of assaults upon the leaders of the workers or upon organizers. "The instruments of industrial force belong chiefly to the employer, because of his control of the job of the worker. Their use is more common and more effective than any other form of violence at the command of the employer. The most powerful weapon is the power of discharge, which may be used indiscriminately upon mere suspicion, which under certain conditions may be almost as potent, either in use or threat, as the power of life and death. It is the avowed policy of many employers to discharge any man who gives any sign of dissatisfaction on the theory that he may become a trouble maker or agitator. "The only corresponding weapon in the hands of the workers is sabotage, in the form either of malicious destruction of property or of interference with production. The field of its use is much more restricted in practice than in theory and its results at best are negative and produce in the employer only a blind resentment and undiscriminating hate. Sabotage as a policy shows no signs of developing in American industry. "b. Equally productive of an attitude leading to violence is the denial of the use of peaceful methods of adjusting grievances, or the creation of a situation in which their use becomes impossible. "On the part of the employer the arbitrary acts which may be classed under this general head are: "Denial of the right to organize. "Refusal to consider the complaints of workers. "Refusal to meet the authorized representatives of workers. "Under modern industrial conditions any one of these acts makes peaceful negotiation and settlement impossible. Without organization of the workers their collective claims cannot be considered; without the right to appoint such representatives as they choose, workers are at the mercy of the employer's power of discharge and are usually unequal to the task of presenting and arguing their claims; while the refusal to consider grievances leaves only the alternative of the strike. "On the part of the workers, the possibility of peaceful settlement may be destroyed by refusal to discuss claims, by internal dissensions which render collective and definite action looking to a settlement impossible, and by the issuance of ultimata which allow no time for consideration and negotiation. In any one of these situations the employer has only the choice between tame submission or absolute resistance to the demands of the workers." FIFTY YEARS OF ORGANIZATION. The Tobacco Workers' Union of Germany has recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary by a special edition of its Official Journal. Under the caption of "One-Half of a Century," an eloquent appeal has been issued to the members, imploring them to make renewed efforts in spreading the principles of the union. The trials and tribulations of the past, in the effort to build up the organization upon a more permanent and practical basis, bear testimony of a long drawn out struggle. At a convention held in Leipzig, Saxony, on December 25, 1865, the General German Cigarmakers' Union was organized. The management was placed in the hands of a President and a Board of Directors. The functions of the union did not include political activity. Within a few years 12,000 cigarmakers were enrolled under the banner of the union. The split among the socialistic political factions caused confusion in the ranks of the organized cigarmakers. Under the leadership of Hoerig, Georg, Winter and Richter in Wandsbek and Hamburg, Altona, a new organizatoin of cigarmakers was organized, consisting of local unions under a system of confederation. During this critical period the membership of the "General German Cigarmakers' Union" was reduced to 800. At a convention held in May, 1872, the original name was changed to "German Tobacco Workers' Union." In the following years many efforts were made to reorganize the scattered forces, which were only partially successful. At the convention held in 1903, in Dresden, Saxony, benevolent features consisting of out of work benefit, sick benefit and donations to mothers with new-born babies were re-established. The dues to be contributed by the various classes were increased accordingly. The change of the system imparted new life to the organization, developing into a rapid growth of the union. The membership is as follows: 1884.. 1894. 1903... Germany are largely due to the lack of appreciation, for almost four decades, of practical trades union endeavor and activity. Every amelioration for the benefit of the trade was expected from political activity in favor of a democratic form of government and socialistic panaceas. Years of experience, coupled with long hours, low wages and the sweating system, have changed the tactics of the organization. In recent years it has been working hard to raise wages, to shorten the hours of labor and to improve working conditions. The average annual per capita wages of the tobacco workers have been computed as follows: 4,076 13,571 17,811 us. We all, who have been loyal to the union in the past, solemnly promise on this very day to kindle the fire of enthusiasm in the heart of every member, in the common cause for the amelioration of the tobacco industry. United under this banner the German Tobacco Workers are marching in a solid phalanx to victory.Cigarmakers' Official Journal. MUST OBEY COMPENSATION LAW. PITTSBURG, PA.-State Commissioner of Labor and Industry Jackson has served notice on industries which are carrying their own insurance, under the State compensation law, that unless they meet their legal payments promptly and without quibbling the State workmen's compensation board will revoke their right to self-insurance. Remember the Label. |