THE PERVERSION OF LABOR.
By G.
From the beginning it has been the plan of the adversary of the human race to pervert every good thing, and to use it for the destruction of peace on earth. One of the most essential elements of society is labor, and just now every possible influence is brought to bear to make labor a disturbing element. Designing men are using every conceivable artifice to make the laboring class a stepping-stone to individual gain—political or financial. It always has been the case, in countries where popular sovereignty is in vogue, that candidates for office would make great pretense of friendship for the laboring man about election time. But the organization of labor into unions and federations has added much to the feasibility of manipulating the labor element. Men who aim to lead or control men know that it is easier to control an organized community than an unorganized one. When men organize, they necessarily place themselves under the control of a leader, or a few leaders, and obligate themselves to follow. Then comes the leaders' opportunity, and opportunity develops their real characters. They may use their opportunity unselfishly, but the majority of leaders in this world's affairs are not absolutely unselfish. The great schemers will find it much more convenient to control a few ambitious minor leaders than to control the mass. Thus an organization formed for one purpose, even a legitimate purpose, may be used to further the interests of political schemers at election time. It is also true that laboring men have political ambitions, and to gain influence with or control of labor organizations goes far to encourage such ambition. And the so-called common people have many times cast their votes for men who professed to be their friends, but in due time proved otherwise. These thoughts are sustained by prominent journals favorable to labor unionism. For instance, the San Francisco Chronicle, an employer of union labor, says:— There is reason to fear that in some large centers union labor is being led, not by the wise men who are the nominal national leaders, but by hotheads and extremists, who are incompetent to judge of what it is reasonable for labor to ask, or what is possible for employers to concede, and who possibly do not care as to either, so long as they are confident of the brute force behind them.
To this we add a forcible expression by Organized Labor, a journal which represents union labor, pointing out the danger of extreme measures:— To say that a reign of terror exists in Chicago is to grossly overstate the facts; but it is none the less a fact that violence, coercion, and even murder, have increased at an alarming rate recently. Moreover, try to hide the fact as we will, it must be confessed that many recent demands made by the Chicago unions are arbitrary and unreasonable.
A notable illustration of this is found in the astounding demand of the Teamsters' Union that managers of buildings shall use no other fuel but either gas or coal for a period of five years. This piece of presumption has not been eclipsed by any employer of labor, no matter how tyrannical he may be. Another example of this gross overstepping of bounds of reason is furnished by the street-railway employees, who, in the very face of a plea for arbitration made by the employers, voted overwhelmingly for a gigantic strike, which, if inaugurated, would have brought suffering and inconvenience upon 500,000 disinterested citizens. The man or the paper having labor's cause at heart stands aghast and bewildered at this tyrannical abuse of strength. Had the threatened street-car strike taken place, or had the elevator operators' strikes continued much longer, public opinion would have been as a unit in opposition to both unions, and their unjust strike would have been lost, despite the sheer strength they depend so much upon. We can not too often call attention to the prophecy of James 5: 1-6, as indicating the extreme to which laboring men will go in the last days, because of the oppression of the rich. But this prophecy is too often mistaken for a justification of the predicted violence. It shows three prominent results of human wrongs and the human remedy: (1) Human greed knows no bound but physical restraint. (2) Oppressed humanity in an unregenerate state knows no remedy but retaliation. (3) Labor organization utterly fails to alleviate the condition by peaceful means, and at last resorts to violence. Organized labor, no matter how well intended at the outset, is so manipulated as to finally become an organization of extreme violence. Then the oppressors and those who have sought to save themselves by retaliation will go down together. For just at this juncture those who are trusting in the only Saviour are enjoined to be “patient,” not retaliative; “for, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” Will laboring men heed the lesson, and beware of putting themselves under the control of human leaders, to be led they know not whither, until too late to recover? It is a time to seek the Lord, and to be guided by His Word. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” These are the gracious words of Him who “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”