LATELY there has been conducted in San Francisco an official investigation into the labor problem. The investigation began with the cigar-making trade—whether because that is the leading industry of San Francisco or not, we are unable to state definitely, but from the length of time given to it, and from the space occupied in the newspaper report of it, we should fairly conclude that it is. Whether it is or not, is not the question which we notice here, but in the investigation a certain principle was developed which is worthy of the attention of every fair-minded person, not because of its value, but because of its essential wickedness. In the investigation, labor was represented entirely by the trades-unions. One day the commissioner asked the following question:— “Suppose an employer of both white and Chinese labor says, ‘I will discharge my one hundred Chinese, if you will allow me to engage one hundred apprentices.’” The answer by the official representative of the cigar-makers was,— “It would be a great crime against the cigar-makers to introduce these boys into the trade.” If this applied only to the trade of cigar-making, of course nothing could be justly said; for it would be a real mercy to the boys to be kept as far away as possible from that filthy, poisonous business, and we should count it, not a crime against the cigar-makers, but a crime against the boys. But this principle is applied by the trades-unions to every industry. They would no more allow boys to enter these industries to learn the trades than they would allow the Chinese. This question and its answer develop the real principle of trades-unionism; and it will be seen that that principle is not only anti-Chinese, but anti-American as well, and not only that, but is essentially immoral and anti-human. And there is where the great crime lies.