Such a union
commands the unqualified admiration and respect of all classes of the
community; the respect equally of workmen, employers, political
economists, and philanthropists. There are no dues for membership, since
all of the expenses are paid by the company. The employers act as
officers of the Union, to enforce its rules and keep its records, since
the interests of the company are identical and bound up with those of
the men. It is never necessary to plead with, or persuade men to join
this Union, since the employers themselves organize it free of cost; the
best workmen in the community are always anxious to belong to it. The
feature most to be regretted about it is that the membership is limited.
The words "labor union" are, however, unfortunately so closely
associated in the minds of most people with the idea of disagreement and
strife between employers and men that it seems almost incongruous to
apply them to this case. Is not this, however, the ideal "labor union,"
with character and special ability of a high order as the only
qualifications for membership.
It is a curious fact that with the people to whom the writer has
described this system, the first feeling, particularly among those more
philanthropically inclined, is one of pity for the inferior workmen who
lost their jobs in order to make way for the first-class men. This
sympathy is entirely misplaced.
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