Greeting THE International Union of Elevator Constructors extend to President Gompers congratulations on his 66th birthday anniversary (January 27) and wish him many happy days in which to continue the good work in which he is engaged. The Elevator Constructor FRANK J. SCHNEIDER, Editor PERRY BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA 16th and Chestnut Streets Entered as second-class matter April 8, 1907, at the Post Office at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. VOLUME XIII FEBRUARY, 1916 NUMBER 2 "THE QUITTER" By R. W. Service. "You're sick of the game;" well, now, that's a shame; It's the plugging away that will win you the day, So don't be a piker, old pard! Just draw on your grit; it's so easy to quit; It's easy to cry that you're beaten-and die; It's easy to crawfish and crawl; But to fight and to fight when hope's out of sight- And though you come out of each grueling bout All broken and beaten and scarred, Just have one more try-it's dead easy to die, Compulsory Service Must Go By Samuel Gompers The splendid fight that workers in other countries are making against proposals for compulsion has won the admiration of many who believe in voluntary institutions. But under our republican form of government there is developing an officialdom that is endeavoring to deprive government employes of the rights of free work ers. Governmental institutions have grown in proportion to the development of the country, increases in population and the increasing functions that the state has assumed. Increases in the numbers of civil service employes have been proportional. Formerly civil service positions were part of the so-called spoils system. The civil service system was adopted, which, in theory, was based upon merit and afforded protection to efficient workers. It is general information that the civil service is subject to "influence," that it functions in a mysterious way to advance the interests of some and leaves others helpless against the purpose of a great machine. We have heard much from ebullient theorists of the dignity of public servants and of the greater respect that will obtain for governmental employes rather than for employes in private employ. These advocates of governmental ownership and operation are confronted with disheartening facts. Public servants, city service employes, have not the rights of ditch diggers, hod-carriers, or "common laborers." Civil service employes have been denied the right of free speech and free press. They have been denied the right to petition for redress of grievances. They have been denied the right to participate in the political life of their community or of the nation. And finally they have been denied the right to quit work. Compulsion in our country demands our attention as much as compulsion elsewhere. Recently twenty-eight post office clerks and carriers of Fairmont, W. Va., quit work. They committed no violence; they destroyed no property. They made no effort to interfere with the mail. They wrote their resignations, turned over their keys, and left the postal service. In their resignations they made grave charges against the postmaster of Fairmont and then left the petty injustices and the "speeding-up" policy of the post office. They felt that to work longer was to lose self-respect. Surely free men could not be compelled to work and to work under such conditions. Such submissiveness would indicate very tame natures. Nevertheless these twenty-eight who resigned-just that, nothing more-were charged with criminal conspiracy to delay the mails. They are now on trial for the crime of determining that to work longer under existing conditions was to sacrifice their self-respect. Such an interpretation is an assumption that "enlistment" obtains for civil service employes-that they are subject to a rigid discipline for service and to compulsory authority to enforce compulsory service or go to prison. If the right of the Post Office Department to enforce compulsory service is maintained, government employes lose the right to freedom. This is the most daring contention made by any governmental agency. If such policies prevail in the civil service they will result in the development of a spineless class of workers, without the courage to declare their rights or the will to contend for them. No tendency could be more dangerous to a republic than the development of a submissive spirit among workers and the foisting of compulsory service upon those in government employment. Dangerous tendencies and conditions in the civil service were given serious consideration at the San Francisco Convention. Those of the labor movement have learned that they must make their own fight for their rights and their freedom. The American trade union movement has aided some of the workers to organize and to make the fight and it stands ready to assist all others, Government employes must have an organization powerful enough to as sert their rights and to secure their recognition. Secondly, there ought to be an appeal body before which government workers could present grievances and claims, and with the backing of a strong organization could secure a hearing and an opportunity for justice. The significance of this effort of the Post Office Department to corrupt the spirit of our free nation, to fasten compulsion upon any group of workers, makes more urgent the necessity of congressional action to assure to civil service employes the rights of free citizens. The theory of enlistment for service is repugnant to our ideals, our institutions and the genius of our people. Unionists Honor Gompers Washington, Feb. 5.-A banquet by the Central Labor Union, January 27, in honor of President Gompers' sixty-sixth birthday anniversary was not only a fitting recognition of the life-long efforts of the A. F. of L. executive, but it was "a trade union revival," to use the term of one of those present. Secretary of Labor Wilson and Representatives Buchanan, Casey and Nolan, members of the House labor group; Secretary Ernest Bohm, of the New York City Central Federated Union, and A. F. of L. Secretary Frank Morrison made short addresses. The latter referred to his nineteen years' association with President Gompers, who, the speaker said, was successful "because of his unselfishness, his singleness of purpose and his power of concentration." Secretary of Labor Wilson spoke of President Gompers' long activity in the trade union movement. "He has even saved many employers from the horrors of their own selfishness," said the ex-mine workers' official. "No sooner has one evil been removed than the machinery of trade unionism is started to remove another." In answer to these eulogies, President Gompers said: "It is scarcely just to only speak of achievements. Men in other ages have tried hard, but the superficial have voted them failures. Every man or woman who has uttered one truth has contributed to the cause of jus tice. If the world pays me the only tribute I ask, it will say, 'He tried his best to be of service to his fellows.' On every human being devolves duty and service to the extent their environment affords them opportunity to be useful. I am no better than when I worked in the shop for twenty-six years. The men and women of labor have given me an opportunity to acquire information and to acquire a better understanding of men. To them I owe all, and I propose to give them the information they gave me the opportunity to acquire." All of the speakers made reference to the significance of the Clayton law, which declares that "the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce." |