XLVIII LABOR The Growth of Labor Organizations. Workingmen's associations or trade unions, such as we have to-day, had no existence before the latter part of the eighteenth century. In the days when industry was in its simple form of organization, when almost every workman was a proprietor, there were few who could be classed as employees. A German scholar1 informs us that in 1784 in the duchy of Magdeburg there were 27,050 independent masters and only 4,285 assistants and apprentices, and that about the same time in the principality of Würzburg there were 13,762 masters with 2,176 assistants and apprentices. That is to say, in more than five sixths of the industrial establishments of these two places the master carried on his work single-handed. As it was in Germany, so it was in England and America before the industrial revolution (p. 361) the number of employees was extremely small. When it is remembered that apprentices and assistants usually lived in the home of the master and were treated as members of the family, it becomes still more evident that under the old order of things there was no distinct line of cleavage between employers as a class and employees as a class. The factory system brought about a complete change in the industrial condition of the workman. A craftsman was now the owner neither of the tools with which he worked nor of the articles which his craft fashioned; he 1 Karl Bücher, "Industrial Evolution," p. 188. was a hired man, an employee whose chief industrial interest was his wage. It was to be expected that employees would unite to advance their interests, and it was not long before workmen began to meet for the discussion of such subjects as wages and hours of labor. At first government handled these meetings with a severe hand. In 1799 the English Parliament passed a law making it a criminal offense to attend a meeting the purpose of which was to secure an advance in wages. or to shorten the hours of labor. In 1817 under this act ten calico-printers in the town of Bolton were imprisoned for three months for simply intending to attend a meeting at which the subject of wages was to be discussed. Such injustice, however, was inconsistent with the spirit of democracy which was at that time beginning to guide the conduct of statesmen, and in 1824 the harsh law of 1799 was repealed, and workingmen were henceforth permitted to combine for the promotion of their interests. Workingmen now began to combine, not only for the purpose of putting up wages and shortening the working day, but for the advancement of all their interests. Those engaged in the same trade, or allied trades, united in a permanent association, called a trade union, the abiding purpose of which was to promote in every lawful way the general welfare of the associated members. Trade unions in England at first did not have smooth sailing, for rulers were at heart against them; but they steadily prospered, and in 1871 were formally recognized by an act of Parliament as legal organizations. This recognition caused them to flourish as never before, and to-day England is the strongest center of trade unionism in the world. The trade-union movement in America began about the same time that it began in England, but it did not meet the same fierce opposition. Its progress, however, was not altogether peaceful and undisputed. For many years the courts were inclined to regard the movement with distrust, and in more than one decision a combination that aimed to raise wages was pronounced to be an unlawful conspiracy. But trade unions were only one of the outgrowths of democracy and were bound to wax strong with the growing strength of the people. In 1870 New York, by statute, legalized the trade union, and in recent years the right of workingmen to combine has not been seriously questioned anywhere in the United States. In America, law and public opinion have been almost uniformly on the side of the trade union, and it has prospered here as in no other country, England alone excepted. More than two million workingmen in the United States are enrolled in trade unions, one union alone having the enormous membership of three hundred thousand. Government and the Workingman. The aims of labor organizations are usually clear and well defined. They strive for the social and intellectual as well as for the economic betterment of the working classes. They want the workingman to receive a wage that will enable him to buy a fair share of the good things of life, and they want the working day to be of a length that will give leisure for the enjoyment of the benefits of education, culture and refinement. They advocate the abolition of child labor, because they want the children to attend school. They demand that work in factories and mines be done under sanitary conditions, because they regard the health of workingmen as a matter of supreme importance. In brief, they favor all movements that tend to elevate labor and resist all movements that tend to degrade it. For the accomplishment of many of their purposes labor organizations have invoked the assistance of government. The Constitution is silent on the subject of labor. The relations of employer and employed are to be regulated by the State, and labor problems must be solved by the State. The federal government fixes the wages of its employees, prescribes the length of their working day (eight hours), investigates the conditions of the laboring classes, 1 and collects labor statistics. Further than this it cannot go. When the President of the United States a few years ago intervened to bring about a settlement of a strike, he acted as a private citizen, not as an official vested with the authority of the federal government. The earlier State constitutions contain nothing about labor, because when they were framed there were no labor organizations and no labor problems. In recent years the constitutions are inserting clauses pertaining to labor. The constitution of Wyoming declares: "The rights of labor shall have just protection through law calculated to secure to the laborer proper rewards for his service and to promote the industrial welfare of the State." The constitutions of California and Idaho forbid the employment of Chinese laborers upon State or municipal public works. The constitution of North Dakota declares that every citizen of the State shall be free to obtain employment whereever possible, and forbids the exchange of blacklists 2 between corporations. In Louisiana the constitution forbids the passage of any law fixing the wages of manual labor. Numerous other illustrations might be given to show that the States are beginning to introduce the subject of labor into their constitutions. It is in the field of State legislation that we may best learn how deeply government is concerned in the affairs of the workingman. In more than two thirds of the States the employment of children under twelve years of age is forbidden by law; in more than half of the States women may not work in factories more than ten hours a day; in thirty-one States women working in shops must be provided with seats; in nearly half the States the working day of State and municipal employees is limited to eight hours; in twenty-four States there is official inspection of factories and mines; in two thirds of the States there are 1 'Of course Congress can regulate labor matters in the Territories and in the District of Columbia. * Lists of persons objectionable to employers. bureaus of labor for collecting and giving out information on labor topics. The most remarkable instance of legislation regarding labor comes from Utah, where the law prohibits grown men from working more than eight hours a day in mines. It was thought that this law was unconstitutional, because it virtually denies to adults freedom of contract, but the Supreme Court of the United States declared that it was constitutional on the ground that working in mines is a matter that comes under the police power (p.392) of the State. The recognition of labor organizations by government is becoming quite general. Most of the States provide for the incorporation of trade unions, and a federal law permits national trade unions to be incorporated, provided they have two or more branches in every State, and maintain headquarters in the District of Columbia. Besides giving them power to incorporate, several States have lately attempted to protect trade unions by making it a misdemeanor for an employer to discharge an employee for belonging to a labor organization. It seems probable, however, that statutes which interfere in this harsh manner with the freedom of contract will not receive the support of public opinion. Two States have enacted laws that certain publie work shall be performed only by labor unions-as full a recognition of labor organizations as it is possible, perhaps, for government to give. The Settlement of Labor Disputes. The chief function of the labor unions is to enable workingmen to avail themselves of the strength of organization when they are bargaining with their employers for wages and hours of labor. When a single workman in an establishment employing hundreds asks for higher wages he is not likely to receive as much consideration as would be shown to a similar request coming from all the workmen united in a compact body. Under the trade-union system, instead of individual bargaining between employer and employee, there is col |