p. 16 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 21. (5/24/1905)

The Public and Labor Unions

By Editor

Labor Unions.—One does not need to question far or wide to learn the sentiment of the general public regarding labor unions. In conversing with ordinary commonfolk of all sorts on a train the last few days, we were struck with the universal condemnation visited upon the unions in Chicago, over the teamsters' strike. A writer in the Denver News, of May 5, thus expresses it:

Why have the people come to despise the very term "labor union?" The feeling seems universal, and is held by the great general public and by probably more than half of the unwilling members of the unions. Statistics show about ten "union" members to every 500 citizens, and this small minority undertakes to rule the rest of us, and if we don't obey exactly and quickly, they slug, throw bricks, shoot, cut, dynamite, boycott, and murder.

And yet the general public are not unfriendly to workingmen, nor to the members of the union as men. What they do not like is the trust; and between the trust which robs subtly, gently, by higher prices for beef or Standard oil, and the trust which creates enmity between classes, which mobs, slugs, clubs, stones, brickbats, shoots, and stabs men, because the men do not think that way, the general public prefers the former, and it is not to be wondered at. If all labor unions conducted themselves with the same dignity and honor manifested in that of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, there would be no objection to the union. It is the operation of that principle which demands all, as truly as any trust ever did, which recognizes that non-union workingmen have no rights that union men—or others—are bound to respect, that has turned the general public against labor unions, and for this, labor unions are alone responsible.

Farming in the City

What can be done for the unemployed of our large cities to enable them to support themselves, and encourage habits of industry, is well set forth in a pamphlet sent out by the Philadelphia Vacant Lots Cultivation Association. This pamphlet is entitled, "Farming in the City," and gives a history of the movement inaugurated by former Mayor Pingree, of Detroit, in 1894, with the development of that movement up to the present time, both in this country and in Europe. The pamphlet is well worth perusal, and may be obtained by addressing R. F. Powell, 14 So. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Juries Differ.—

In Valparaiso, Ind., after the city council had ordered the closing of business on Sundays, all the cigar and confectionery stores, with one exception, were closed for several weeks, when the proprietors of that one were arrested, and, on conviction by a jury in the city court, were fined. An appeal was taken to the Superior Court, and the jury, after deliberating but fifteen minutes, rendered a verdict of acquittal. A press item says that, "as a result of this verdict, the proprietors of seventeen stores decided to open on Sundays."

Sunday Funerals.

The preachers of Traverse City, Mich., have adopted stringent resolutions against Sunday funerals. In this connection it is well to note that the Roman Catholic archbishop of Milwaukee, Wis., says that Sunday funerals are not in conformity with the rules of the Catholic Church. And one of his priests says that "Sunday is a busy day at best, and there is no reason for holding funerals on that day."

UNION COLLEGE CALENDAR.

By Editor

The Union College Calendar for 1905-1906 is ready for delivery. Copies may be obtained free by addressing the president of Union College, College View, Neb.