Edwin Markham has written a poem on “The Right to Labor,” which, whether meant for union labor or not, is so applied. One stanza, as taken from Hearst’s papers, by whom it is copyrighted, is as follows:— “And the right of a man to labor and his right to labor in joy—
Not all your jaws can blot that right, nor the gates of Hell destroy.
For it came with the making of man and was kneaded into his bones,
And it will stand at the last of things on the dust of crumbled thrones.”
This is universally true if true at all. Now, is it not as utter a perversion of that right for a syndicate of laboring men to forbid a man to labor as it is for a syndicate of capitalists to do the same thing? In other words, has not a man who is not a union man, who does not believe in the principle of trades unions, as much right to labor as the man who does belong to trades unions? Or does the right inhere in the trade unionist rather than in the man as a man? Has a man, as a man, no right to labor that he may be an independent, helpful unit of society, that he may support his wife and children, clothe and educate them, but obtains this right as soon as he joins a trades union? Is this the principle of primitive Americanism? Is this the principle of equality and liberty? It surely is not. It is not the principle of Christianity. But it is the principle of many trades unionists. And yet we apprehend that many have not taken time to see the evil of the present system. Surely, if they take time to think candidly, they must see that no man ever knows the principle of true liberty unless he is as anxious that the other fellow shall have it as he himself. True liberty for me is equal liberty to him who may be opposed to me. Sometimes, the logic of events may demonstrate trade unionism to be utterly wrong; what then will you think of the principle and its harvest?