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That employers do not relish the manifestation of unrest among the workers need hardly be stated. some unenlightened mothers the quiet baby, which certainly lacks vitality, is the ideal baby; and to all employers the submissive worker, who certainly lacks initiative, is the ideal employee. If he works and asks no questions as to time or money he is much appreciated, even loved.

Employers, the most influential and the biggest, believe in organization for their own benefit-for economy, efficiency and larger profits; but they hate to see their employees organizing and preparing to wrest a little more pay from the profits of trade. They think such efforts annoying, outrageous, and, in bitter terms condemn labor leaders for assisting these efforts.

Unfair employers wax indignant at the workers' renewed demands at the beginning of the busy season. Having to concede these demands upsets the employers' calculations by $10,000 or so-a pretty sum to let go without frowning, fuming and threatening dire disaster to the trade.

This $10,000 or so is the backbone of every employer's argument against the

workers' demands for an additional trifle. Why in heaven or earth should he throw away in wages and shop improvements such or a similar amount? No, he will rather fight against and teach these people a lesson!

By fighting he may have to lose $20,000 or so; but he does not count the cost at the beginning. In his indignation he overlooks that probability. It is in this way that disaster may befall his trade. It is thus that some upstart may displace him and compete him out of the industry, and then the papers report in cold, heartless print that so and so has failed.

If only every employee were submissive and did all the work the employer desired for the amount he deems fit to pay, then he would be by $10,000 or so richer and free from worry besides.

heart believes that every thing connected with the manufacture of his wares, including the labor of his "hands," belongs to him.

As workers we do not dispute the employer's ownership over certain things, but we do emphatically dispute his right of ownership over our labor.

Labor is life. It is the workers' only capital; all they possess. It is theirs to barter for a fair price or withold. Hence labor's unrest at the advent of industrial prosperity. The workers only claim what rightfully and reason

ably belongs to them-a fair share of their contribution to the product.

Can any claim be clearer, juster and fairer? Is not this claim of labor far less selfish than the claim of employers to absolute control and arbitrary rule over the workers? Yet average employers cannot bring themselves to realize or admit it. Most of them cannot or will not enter into the workers' side of the question. They are worried and indignant at having to part with $10,000 or so which does not really belong to them.

January is the month when the waist and dress industry prepares for the spring season, the biggest and the best season for the manufacturers. Naturally, the workers, too, wake up to their interests. On this season depends what conditions of life await them during the coming year-whether they will have to stint themselves. and forego certain essential necessities of food, clothing and ordinary comforts, or have a moderate enjoyment of them, as by right and reason they should.

Accordingly, the workers brace themselves for an effort to get a larger slice of bread and a little more leisure and joy in life as a result of the season's work. Both the officers and rank and file hold numerous meetings. The workers are brought into better organized shape. They are encouraged to express their wishes as to what improvements they need most, and these wishes are embodied in demands to the manufacturers.

The spectacular strike of last year in the waist and dress industry is still

LEVEVEVEVEVER

new to memory. Such impressive demonstrations cannot quickly fade away. But although the strike was in the main successful, increasing the ranks and strengthening Local No. 25, it brought only slight improvement. This slight improvement has been wiped away by the undue increase in the cost of living. Worse than that, since the cost of living has increased at least 30 to 40 per cent, while their increases last year averaged about 10 per cent, it is easy to imagine to what condition the workers have been reduced.

And the waist and dress industry is rich and prosperous enough to make good this difference between wages and the higher cost of living. The manufacturers must bear the burden of higher pay. The workers have no other sources of income.

might imagine, from responsibility to the people who render possible their more or less substantial profits. But this is a high moral idea to which the average employer in the needle industry has not yet been educated. Such education is the work of the union; and where education by conference and negotiation fails, organized force, or the weapon of the strike, must be resorted to.

Of course, this force is not an ideal method of inducing thought and reason. But what else can be done if employers persist in shutting their ears to the stern facts of life?

This singular shutting out of the light by the employers accounts for the oft-repeated strikes in the needle. industry. People outside our ranks. often wonder why such frequent unrest prevails, why so many strikes? All they need do is to become familiar with some of the methods used by the employers to cow the workers and deprive them of work and wages; to divide them and set them against each other; to pursue them with vengeance and discrimination and thus destroy their spirit of independence and faith in the union. Those who have obtained such inside knowledge have freely admitted the justice of the workers' contentions, have justified the workers' demands and their struggles to get concessions.

makers was feeble and had to feel its way inch by inch. Considering, however, their resistance to reasonable demands it would seem that the employ. ers have not yet completely mastered their lessons of the past, and every year the workers in the shops find it necessary to talk strike or go on strik to get a few needful concessions.

This year, or rather at the end of last year, the office of the Waist and Dressmakers' Union presented very moderate demands to the Dress and Waist Manufacturers' Association on behalf of Locals Nos. 10, 25 and 58. These in substance were: (1) a general increase of 20 per cent in wages and carnings for all workers in the industry; (2) a working week of forty-eight instead of forty-nine hours established last year.

The reasonableness of these demands is clear from the fact that a number of large manufacturers of waists and dresses have voluntarily established the forty-eight hour week in their factories. It was hoped that the conferences between the union and association would square the e matters and do away with tl. unrest among the workers.

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At this writing, the Board of Arbitration is in session, considering the workers' demands and the employers' counter demands. The latter submit the stock argument that the industry cannot stand any such concessions. But since the industry stood substantial concessions in the past, has grown richer and more prosperous, one cannot see how the employers' advocates will back up the sounding of the alarm for the future of the industry. We cannot believe that, in view of the extraordinary advance in the cost of living, the Board of Arbitration will

and the sword of the strike in the other hand.

At no time until 1916 have we felt quite secure in our position. At no time have we been quite prepared and amply provided for against attack. With so much fighting for existence as we had to do all this time it is no wonder that our resources could not grow and develop, particularly because our

the entire trade. These remarkable successes pointed the way to possibilities on a far wider scale throughout the country.

A great movement arose in many centers. The intelligent and leading element in the shops everywhere felt convinced that the example set by our people at New York could be followed. with similar success. The soil was good and promising. It only needed plowing and sowing the good seed of unionism, and it would surely yield abundant fruit.

But our union, although strong and full of youthful energy was still groping its way to stability and permanence, and has ever since been busy trying to consolidate its conquests and gains. Beset by many difficulties and intricate problems, and surrounded by a host of foes, our people have been compelled to do the work of building with the trowel of hope in one hand

of our pioneering days-is still the most unscientific, hand-to-mouth system any trade union ever had to contend with.

Hence the movement in centers out of New York, brought into being in 1910, met with only partial success. In many places, which called for an effort of planting the union flag, the movement could not even be started, and where it had been started it could not be continued and kept growing.

The great demand for organizers could never be satisfied. For lack of resources the General Office was powerless to act, except in a few very urgent cases. And so the dream of extending the influence of our union to new fields, of bringing into line the unorganized workers, who probably

equal or exceed the number of those already organized-that dream has as yet to be realized.

A GREAT
AWAKENING

EVERYWHERE

Our present extraordinary activities bid fair to realize much of that noble dream. Time and circumstances are very favorable. Our industries show every sign of prosperity, present and to come. The European conflagration has created a scarcity of labor the world over, and has driven up the price of every conceivable article of manufacture. Thus, in spite of the shrinkage of certain materials and the ruling high prices manufacturers are reaping a plentiful harvest. Therefore the workers have all the reason in the world for demanding and securing a fair and just reward for their labor.

And there also is a great awakening everywhere. The seed planted all these years has sprouted up and is growing. Our incessant agitation, the record progress of the trade union movement in this country, the new spirit of jus tice for the toiler animating ever larger sections of the community-all these are factors in the progress of the movement for better labor conditions among the workers in general and the ladies' garment workers in particular.

In a previous issue reference was made in this column to the movement among the whitegoods workers of New York and the whitegoods, waistand corset workers of Newark, N. J. We have just noted the unusual awakening among the waist and dressmakers of New York. Let us now briefly comment on the aggressive activities displayed by our organizers in centers out of New York. For details of this remarkable movement we refer the reader to our organizers' reports published in this issue.

this widespread movement for organization, improved earnings and shorter hours. The most hopeful optimism. prevailed at the sessions. There was not a doubt in anyone's mind as to the successful outcome of the pending struggles, whether they be arguments with representative employers at the conference table, or will have to be determined strikes. The cities and industries involved in this movement, aside from those already mentioned, are, in New York-the petticoat and ladies' neckwear workers; in New Jersey, in addition to the movement in Newark the embroidery workers. In the cloak and skirt and waist and dress trades of Philadelphia existing agreements with associations of employers will undoubtedly be strengthened and the workers' conditions improved amicably. Conferences have been held. and negotiations are in progress.

A vigorous movement has been started in Baltimore among the shirtwaist and whitegoods workers. Heretofore Baltimore had a strong union of cloakmakers only, our Local No. 4. Other branches of trade were left to shift for themselves and the conditions of labor were subject to no regulation whatever. To cite the words of our Vice-President, John F. Pierce, who is taking charge of the Baltimore campaign, "the girls in the trade know absolutely nothing about unionism. They have lived in that self-satisfied rut so long that they take any price the employer offers."

So significant is this movement that it is embracing an almost new element in our industry-colored workers, who seem to be rather numerous in this industry in Baltimore. Our organizers speak of having won the confidence of a number of these people, and the prospects of building up a strong organization are very bright.