American Problems

on a " strike," may be the storm center; but from every quarter of our land come tidings of trouble, often acute, between the laborer and his employer, and often it is accompanied with brutal violence and bloodshed. Even staid old Philadelphia has joined the ranks; for there but recently nearly one hundred thousand textile workers went out with demands which the operators declared they would stay closed for years before they would grant. We are prone to think of this situation as peculiar to our times, and as largely caused by the organization of Labor unions and the fomenting of discontent among laborers by walking delegates, who do it to keep an easy job. Whatever may be the cause, industrial troubles are as old as organized Labor; and organized Labor flourished in New Testament days under Roman rule, as truly as now. Artisans of that day when the Apostle Paul was a tent-maker were closely affiliated under different guilds, and even sat together in their places of worship. THE INTERESTED PARTIES The solution of these troubles, it may seem at first glance, should be left to the parties directly interested, the discontented laborer and the capitalist who employs him. But consider what interests are involved and what parties are affected by Labor troubles. First, they tend to injure the particular industry concerned. A strike produced by general discontent and unrest in a given industry makes outside capital wary of investing in it, decreases the output...