OF RESPECT. WHEREAS, It has pleased the supreme master His already happy home is made happier still by workmen, our Heavenly Father, to take from our its presence.

UNION PACIFIC EMPLOYES' MAGAZINE.

VOL. V.

MARCH, 1890.

No. 2.

EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYES. essary intelligence to direct their The labor question, in the sense own affairs, consequently, the prothat it is most commonly viewed, gressive labor organization must is the qusstion of the relationship not only seek to gain the strength between employer and employe. of combination but also that of The average workman will say knowledge and confidence in self, that the organization he is a member of is maintained primarily and principally to hold up wages; the employer will generally add to this, "and to dictate to me how I shall run my business."

necessary to the occupancy of a more independent station in life. This is the direction in which humanity is slowly moving.

The employer and employe classes have merely evolved from The cause of friction and con- the master and slave classes. flict between the two is shown by This process of evolution must go their views. The interests of cap- on until such classes cannot be ital and labor, of employer and distinguished. The least friction employed, are not identical and there is created the better for all cannot be while there are two concerned for it tends to keep classes recognized. One stands them apart. Reciprocity must acopposed to the other. The inter- tuate both. Rights must be recests will be identical when the ognized on both sides. The true classes are identical. The pro- progress of the race will not be regress made toward making them tarded by that spirit, but on the identical will record the real pro- contrary will be increased. It gress made toward a higher civili- tends to prepare all for the changes zation. The organization that is that must come, and must come simply created to maintain wages gradual. Men cannot advance is simply an organization to per- from the position of menials to a petuate the existing relations and more independent and self comacts to retard a higher civilization. manding plane without increased The employe class can never be duties and responsibilities and canan independent class, they must not advance any faster than prefirst become their own employers, pared to perform them. The man and would be forced to do this if cannot remain the thoughtless bethey reached, through combination, ing, happy so long as furnished that power that would make them with labor for his hands sufficient independent of the employer, but to supply ordinary sustenance; he combination of men alone will not must assume the responsibilities make this possible. There is a of supplying the material to labor. limit to what it can do alone. on, and disposing of its product. There must come with it the nec- United effort must remove artifi

cial restrictions from his reaching age and after his habits have benatural opportunities, but the in- come fixed through years of simply dividual must go on from there. selling his labor to another he Co-operative productive enter- rarely succeeds. The young man prises have not been the success can draw valuable lessons from the advocates of them hoped to see, these facts, that it is to his benefit nor which the opportunities at to take as active an interest and their command would appear to part as circumstances will permit assure. The failures of them does in the business of his employer. not prove that they were wrong in He may be adding to his employtheory, or could not be practically er's gain, which sometimes a narcarried out. The causes of their row selfish prevailing spirit tells failure have been many and com- him he should not do, still he is plicated, but one of the principal adding to his own by gaining that causes has been carried into them knowledge that gives confidence in with the persons composing them. one's self, to command his personal The old employer and employe powers by learning what they are, idea that they are working for for, in doing that for his employer some other individual than them- he does only that which he must selves and that the fixed wage rate do if he would be successful as an allowed each is all they are really employer of his own energies, and working for, consequently, the few there must be gained an army of that view the enterprise conscien- such men before an industrial cotiously and endeavor to make it a operative commonwealth can ever success by not stinting any part of be made possible. their labor of hand or brain to fit their view of how far the fixed recompense allowed them by the cooperative association pays them tire, and there are none left to take their place.

The labor organization that encourages the spirit of reciprocity, to make present conditions as bearable as possible, that strives to encourage a spirit to do right, to do their duty to ther employer and themselves, that strives to make the employer's business a success, and to learn as much as possible of what increases or diminishes it, is doing the most to put humanity on a better footing.

The enterprise fails for a lack of that energy and those engaged at it drift back to the station of a servant to another. If he readily finds some one to employ him steadily he is more happy for he has no worry over the success of The power of the wealth added the business. Many a slave wished to the employers is as nothing himself back under the paternal compared to the power of the care of "ole massa," who had pro- wealth of knowledge that accumuvided him with work, food and lates in the minds of the particiclothing, when he found that his pants. A power that alone can more independent position also in- crush the grasping greed now seen. volved on him increased responsi- The introduction of the "profit bilities that he found he was poor- sharing" system will aid wonderly prepared to meet. This is a fully the wiping out of classes by disposition found among wage increasing the interest in and earners that tends to keep them knowledge of the business in which dependent. they are now simply "hands." The individual who starts into Some of our socialistic contempo"business for himself" the first raries condemn all tendency in time feels this and if this start is that direction as calculated to made after he has passed middle perpetuate "capitalism" and the

"competitive" wage system, while between employer and employe we feel certain that to keep out will grow less as the two come that spirit is to certainly perpetu- closer together. The end of the ate them. conflict will be the elimination of Whatever ideal system may be classes. It must come by absorpdeveloped in the future, it is cer- tion. One class can never extertain that it will have to follow the minate the other. natural laws that govern the distribution of force and its applicaFEDERATION OR CENTRALIZATION. tion to industry, and those who operate that system must have a The Firemen's Magazine for knowledge of those laws if they February endeavors to crush us succeed. The future generations with a repetition of its remarks in will be the descendants of the December, to which we replied in present generation, and the speed January, which the editor calls that each generation moves toward "scathing criticism," a kind found a better and more civilized life will in use only among those who wish depend on the gains made by the to force rather than extend their previous generation. belief by the effect of reasoning. There is no particular breed of Blackguardism is the most compeople that is going to be the an- prehensive name that can be given cestors of the future ideal people. it. Not one argument is advanced It will be the present stock im- to show wherein the Supreme proved. The independent class of Council plan of federation is to the future will trace their ancestry assist railroad employes to gain or back to one or the other of the maintain their rights. That "mopresent master and servant classes. tion" is what his hopes are mainly Whatever will make each at the anchored to yet. present time better acquainted aids He advances the endorsement of still better relations in the future. the Supreme by the switchmen and There is one certain fact, the brakemen's convention as proof world at the present time is poorly that "federation does exist," and prepared to step direct into any that we did not print the truth in ideal condition of society. Let saying that it did not extend beyond such an ideal be established now the Supreme Council and asks if by common consent and the reac- we have "sand" enough to retract. tion from it would set civilization We certainly have when the proof back because people are not pre- we have asked for is furnished, pared for the individual responsi- when it is shown that there has bilities that would fall on each, the been created that which will crefew that would try to make up for ate a fraternal bond among all the individual deficiencies by extra classes of railroad employes; not work on their part, would break among the grand officers, but down under the load, the cry would the rank and file, where the necesbe, "it has been tried and proved sary union of thought and action a failure." It would take years to must take place if federation exgain the ground thus lost. ists. When we are convinced that the centralization of power in the hands of the grand officer is to do this then we will retract and admit that we know nothing whatever about federation. At present we are with the rank and file.

The future ideal generation will not be an indolent one. They will work harder than any of their ancestors, but will have developed the latent power in humanity and will have more to do it with. The conflict between capital and labor,

The action of the conventions is

no proof that the objects to be to say where, and like a drowning obtained from federation proper man catches at straws and cries have been or will be by that "liar.' Because he is condemned method, which method was un- for this he says all firemen, switchdoubtedly the only one presented, men and brakemen are condemned. and as several delegates said, "we He catches wildly at our stateare going to vote for anything ment that "they created nine offices branded federation." They did so. just enough to go around." Nine Where workingmen now have the men met as a constitutional comgreatest need for assistance is in mittee on federation for their contheir everyday surroundings, this stituents. They formulated a plan comes only by union with his fel- of a supreme court composed of lows. There has been quite too nine members; reported to themcommon a belief that this assist- selves, adopted the report, and ance rested in the "Grand Chief," made each of themselves members when he moved tyranny trembled; of that court. They made thema belief quite pleasing to the grand selves supreme, one member of the chief, but has proved quite delu- committee as supreme as another. sive to the common herd. The They immediately filled the offices. demand for federation is simply a Did or could the ones they acted reaction from that idea, it is in for elect any one to one of these keeping with the present demo- offices for the space of one year? cratic age. A similar reaction was If this supreme court continues seen in 1776, when the several will the persons elected to it be in states concluded to federate-gov- official positions. If it is to be ern their own internal affairs, but considered as simply an independjoin issues on matters of common ent organization we have erred; interest both at home and abroad. but if so there can be no connecIf King George had consented to tion whatever between it and federsome concessions his authority ation, and positively could not have might have continued to have been brought federation into existence. recognized; as it was proved it But as it is claimed to have done would have been policy to have this why does he devote his attendone it. The federation of the tion to the simple subject of offiUnited States would not have been cers and nothing to our challenge the result, however. to show wherein railroad employes have been federated. Is it because he cannot? It certainly looks that way. If the Firemen's editor can get any consolation from grabbing at this straw he is welcome to it.

The "Grand Chief," King George or his descendants would still have been looked up to. There is evidently an attempt being made to meet the federal agitation among railroad men with the policy that King George, for his own interest, should have pursued.

He accuses us of falsehood in saying that the laws of the Supreme Council must be reveranced The workmen themselves must in secret. He says they were istake the place of the grand chief, sued to the lodges, certainly, for and it is in the opposite direction their strict observance, to be held that the powers that be have been and used as the ritual is. Consetrying to steer matters, and it is quently, if shown to any one not a most evident that the editor of the member, a crime was committed. Firemen's Magazine does not wish The vulgar eyes of a member of any discussion that will throw another organization of railroad light on what is federation. He employes could not see them and asserts that it does exist, but fails judge whether he wished to be