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CTYE consideration which I have iver to boycott has related almost entirely to its legality rality in the abstract, and particularly to the propriety or effective of its use in particular es. It may be defined as a method nging jal and commercial v to bear upon those against used for the purpose of in- ling a change In their the boycotters. It is- and not an end, and be either good or bad, end sought to be ae- A ott in favor of an 1d universally good in itself, while a a bad end is essen- two extremes 1 ‘ es which ly gpod bad, or which for some classes of people and rs, the promotion of which ¢ be justifiable or un- sccording to the proportion or evil which would result. herafore veen thes cott must be distingujshed ses from the incidents which it and also from the con- nection with which it is 2 to. For example, 2 ur simultaneously with or s r with a lockout of » employer or by concert ng employers, but in all the strike or lockout ma s completeness without a boy- it has been obgerved that frequently accompanied are ing, physical violence and epithets on_.the part either boycotters or of »athizers, those who merely take advantage ate trouble and the boycott itself is ful appeal to the i the public con- sons invoking it, and 1eans or weapon end sought is al- weakened by every act or threat menace of The appeal of the boycotter arn But iver complishing th or to the public must be absolutely peace- ful d absolut respectful in order t effective, because every departure that rule creates resentment in the public mind and turns the very to which the boycotter appeals gainst him. In the great conflict between capital and labor the boycott, justly applied 1d rightfully exercised, has been und to be one of organized labor's most effective weapons; but unjustly pli exercised it has cer ©0 be organized labor’'s greatest menace. It is the worst kind of folly to inaugurate a boyeott which does pot in its substance, occasion and purpose appeal to the public conscience, blic sense of justice and to the on sense of the people, otherwise people receive it with disfavor and revulsion of public senti- and reacts injuriously upon the nt. the causes a ment conscience, which, when sympathy for a just all-conquering force, is im- in its resentment when by a sense of imposition. As organized labor finde its surest depend- sed ence in public support of a boycott == that is approved by conscience, so it o) finds its surest condemnation in public & opposition to a boycott which is unjust in itself, or which is prosecuted by un- just means The fierce assaults made upon the boycott in general by the opponents of organized labor are inspired by a knowledge of the public temper toward any appeal upon false grounds, and the hope that by determined opposition to the boycott the public will be forced to discriminate more keenly than here- tofore as between the merits of the various appeals to ite support. Under- lying this policy there is also the hove that the public, once arrested by ap- peal to its prejudice and its pride. may in the general practice of the boy- tt sufficient evidence of impropriety to compel a review of its whole attitude toward that institution. That some organizations are by no means free crror in their manner of prosecut- e boycott is a fact that cannot be ignored by organized labb; It is sald that the boycott is un- American. This cannot be truly said of the boycott in any general sense, be- cause the principle of the boycott is as old and as universal as civilization jtself. It has been used in all ages by churches and governments and: by social, commercial and political organ- izations for the purpose of enforcing r of religion, morality, pat- riotism, justice, moral virtues and so- cial order. For example, boycotts have been instituted and successfully main- d in select neighborhoods and alities againsi grocers maintaining sons in connection with their stores, gambling and against various ms of vice and irregularity of con- ct in social affairs. The name “boycott” originated in an fdent of the Irish Land League uggle, in which a Captain Boycott particularly antagonized the purposes of the league, and the league and all of its friends agreed not to deal with the captain either directly or indirectly, to simply have nothing to do with him nor with those¢ who chose to ally them- scives with him. But in that case it v the mere application of the old principle of ostracism applied to those whose conduct was contrary to the public sense of propriety or justice or morality or patriotism. As a weapon in the hands of or- THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL ganized labor it Is the proper subject of condemnation whenever it is used urjustly or for an improper purpose or in an improper manner; but it is not to be condemned and put aside upon the- ground that it is un-American. <K Indeed the American revolution may be sald to have originated in the boy cott instituted in New England against and *to appeal withdraw persons. those who favor abstinence from the use of intoxicating liguors. blers have a perfect legal right peace- fully and respectfully to agree among themselves not to patronize those who are opposed to the practice of that vice, to the community to their patronage from such If the . moral community be opposed to the sale and Labor organfzations have with a fre- quency that has been discouraging to friends of organized labor, and no doubt discouraging to its own best informed leaders, engaged in boycotts which could not be given the sanction of pub- lic approval, and have too frequently permitted violente, menaces of violence and boisterous conduct in connection with their boycotts to alienate public The gam- sense of the Btan bax Tha efasal bt the. solbib B s e e et wag’ howti: P i (AN gy i . ¢ temperance boycott will be sus- and impiacable resentment and hostil- dames to buy English clothtng and pend at all upon the Qrpose or [TRBIFance bokeolt Wil Be susy SRS TSR THing X recognition of taxed tea was a boycott, but th® act of raiging a merchant ship and-throw- ing its cargo of tea overboard was a thing entirely distinet from the boy- cott, The boycott began and -ended with the refusal to purchase the stamped commodities and the organ- ized appeal to all colonists to refrain from purchasing or using them. The boycott, in its effective form, namely, a peaceful and respectful appeal to the public to discontinue patronizing those whose course of busi- ness and treatment of labor is consid- right to unite in and- their ‘patrons. end sought to be accomplished by it. Temperance people have a perfect legal patronage from all persons engaged in the sale of intoxicating liquors, and, if theyiohoose, they have an equal right in céricert to agree to withdraw their patronage from all persons who patron- ze the sellers of intoxicating liquors, and they have a right to request all members of the community to them in so boycotting the liquor sellers on the other hand, have the same legal withdrawing their will fail. boyeott would join wise it would The liquor sellers, be limited to such places as are visited and patronized by liquor drinkers only. If the sentiment of the community be against the enforcement of abstinence from liquér, in that way the boycott S0 in the other case; if public sentiment favors gambling to the ex- tent of condemning those who do not believe in and supvort it, the gamblers’ cases the boycott in favor of a bad pur- pose is just as legal as the boycott in favor of a good purpose, and is to be this very important fact in connection with the labor movement and struggle is to be found in the writings of many of its leaders, one of whom in a mas- terly article recently published on this subject says: “It behooves the labor movement of the United States to be on guard lest the loose and reckless application of the vrove effective; other- boycott shall lead to the expurgation of fail. But in all these that institution as a fact of history, the rewriting of which may cost the labor movement many a day of toil and sorrow. ered to be unfalr and oppressive, IS right to act'in concert in withdrawing upheld or condemned only according _ “The proper use of the boycott can- absolutely and unquestionably legal. their patronage from all temperance to the merit and expediency of its pur- not be successfully attacked upon any and conforms perfectly to every moral people and; ~from all who, patronize pose. £ ground, legal or moral. The continued principle Which b s 3 effectiveness of Bhould ZoVern the R N S N NSO B NS00 00 S0 NORONIS SOOI SIOBNOGIL DS SO BOGEL IO RROROGIUEG50504® the boycott and conduct of men. P 52 the assurance B "HOW ORGANIZED LLABOR e o sought to be en- ¢ < g ary effects de- forced be unrea- 3 : pend therefore sonable public upon a thorough sentiment will condemn the b cott . and def: its purpose; and§ other if, on the hand, the demand be reasonable and Continued From Preceding Page. of investigation, nfakes this bold as- Just ‘h;’ p“:’!‘k‘ sertion: “The employment of chil- sense ' of " justice 3 4,.. svil-whiclt hs £ il and. should dren is an evil whicht has bpen stim ulated as much by the action of pa- rents as by mill owners.” parefits are not all’inithe ranks of un- organized labor is shown by the reve- lations¥of the great'coal strike. The members of the “junior unions,” many approve it. The boycott has been condemned by courts of great learning, dignity, fairness and ab- solute integrity, $of whom were working below the le- but in all such {gal age, learned loyalty to. union cases the con- §principles in their cradles. The little been based upon {girls who work in the mills that dot demnation has 3the anthracite pegion ceome from the illegality in the jhomes of organizéd labor. manner of con- In all history “there has been no ducting the boy- more stupendous work of popular ed- cott on in the in- ucation than that svhich has been un- cidental develop- }dertaken by the labor unions. In- ment of violence {vestigators repeatedly expressed their or menaces of {astonishment that the ignorant for- violence in some jeigners who Had come to take the way connected ¢place of earlier Pennsylyania miners therewith. Nor jhad been s0 quickly educated to an does the legality appreciation of the American stand- of the boycott de- ards and taught couragesand.persist- That these’ PROTECTS WOMEN AND CHILDREN ence in defense of their rights. The lessons ‘of American uninonism _will not be complete until the miners have learned to unite for the protection of these little ones, “whose lives have been darkened by the shadows of the coal. heap: . ‘in California the foreign ele- meént of cur population furnishes the most flagrant cases of violation of the child labot laws. With the exception of the children in the Southern cot- tonl mills this is also true -of other parts of the United States. The task of ‘educating these foreigners to the standards of the American trade undonists will be lightened in propor- tion to thé extent to which the com- mon schgols are enabled to do their work. ‘We know of a number of instances in San Francisco where children have dropped ,out of school not from,any economic necessity, but simply because of a childish enjoyment of the greater excitement and variety of business life 'and of.a desire to earn spending money. In such cases parents must learn to feel a keener sense of responsibility for (s Pt { g tain the mental, moral and nhysical de- understanding of % the legitimate 9scope of that measure. The the child’s future. Every year the com-§ rules of practice petition in American industrial life be-3 in (e case are comes more strenuous. In the future} weil established not alone the prizes of life, but the bare comforts, will be won only by the in- telligent. Two years ago the whole country was and need only be cited to suggest at once the errors, actual or,contem- touched by the beautiful object lesscu} plated, in any given by one of the Southern typo-3 given casof graphical unions, which adopted a little “In considering girl who had been forced into a cotton§ trese rules it is mill at an early age. A sum equal to) important to bear her wage was paid to her family and§ in mind that the provision was mdde for her support? boycott is first and and education. The records of the San{ last an appeal Francisco unions show more than one! to the gublic, spe- instance of little fatheriess wards of} cifieall to the the unions. By such actions as these,§ purchasing ;ub- as well as by systematic efforts to se-¢ lic. In so far as cure and enforce child labor laws and§ the organized to educate the rank and file up to the{ workers are in- high standards of their leaders, the un- jons hope in the end to bring to every American child his birthright of a hap- Py, care-free childhood, in which to at- cluded among the public, the boycott is an appeal to them as purchas:- ers, not as work- With this un- derstanding of the nature of the boy. velopment that will enable him to ful- fill worthily the duties and responsibili- ties of American citizenship. cott the dividing line between that measyre and the strike becomes ob- vious. The first rule in the case is that the boycott shall be carried so far, and only so far, as the purchasing power extends. Stated comversely, the boy- cott should not be carried beyond the line of the purchasing power and into the sphere of the producing power, SO as to require not only a r-iusal to pur- chase a certain commodity, but also a refusal to perform labor indirectly or casually associated with its production ar distribution. “Unless this distinction be drawn it is inevitable that there can be no stop- ping place between the boycott and the sympathetic strike, The justificat b and, indeed, the imperative necessity, of the rule here cited will be apparent upon reflecting that a boycott prose- cuted without regard to that rule would invoive untold numbers of w rs in callings more or less distinct and un- cennected. Such a boycott, go f: being a appeal for pul against a ce merely ment to comm “A boycott so condt velve any stoppage of labor in effect a sympathetic strike. In both cases the principle is the same; conse- quently in both cases the same objec- tigns apoly. The principle, or rather assumption, of .the sympathetic strike is that the stoppage of work is of necessity the most effectiv means by which one body of worke aid to another. The objection sympathetic strike rests p the self-evident wisdom the area of a given. strike within the smallest possible compass. By follo ing the latter course the wo ehabled to render financial to their fellows on strike; gring on strike themselves ohly absorb their own reserve but shortly become claim pathy from other be Thus the area of the sy enlarges by an inevitable gression. “In essence the sympathetic @ demonstration of sympathy tradistinguished from an act stantial aid. The real princip sympathetic strike may be best by the adage: ‘Misery loves In the case of the precisely the same. 3 work, notwithstanding handling a boycotted art unionist is enabled to re assistance to those cerned; whereas by g merely adds his own weight to den of his fellows. ““Another established Yrosecution of the boycott shall not be levied upon the of union labor, notwithsta employer of such labor may ploying non-umion labor in- ot} nections. The boycott should used against an er as a means of a or more articles ¢ in trade. The boy: plated upon a company agai the partners in which th plaint for the purpose of o1 more partners who may have under the ban because of dealin another busi Finally, th cott should be applied only to arti of public use and upon the disposa which the public can exercise a termining influence.” Being in the abstract neither illegal nor immoral, the boycott is to be ad- judged and dealt with according to the particular purpose and manner of ap- plication in each case in which it is resorted to. Force, violence and m aces of force or violence, whether in connection with the boycott or dependenfly of it, whether resorted bty labor unions or by employers, sho always be strictly forbidden and rigorously suppressed by 1~ pjrtial enforcement of such la but tfe ‘appeal to reason, to sympathy and to the moral support of the commu in favor of laborers in general or p: ticular classes of labor or particular laborers,, whether belonging to the union or not belonging to the union, should always be eficouraged and fairly considered by every community as be- ing the best possible process of bring- ing the public conscience to bear in regulating and determixing the mutual relations and obligations of all mem- bers of our complicated society to each other in their Industrial and com- mercial relations. Such organized appeals to the pub- lic may and most frequently do involve injustice and oppression on either side. When capital is in the ascend- ency it is-prone to oppress labor. not for the purpose of oppres: its own profit. When organized labor is in the ascendency it is also clined to make extreme and unjust demands, not merely for the oppres- slon of employers, but for its own gain and advantage. The just equi- librium must be reached by tne pres- sure of public sentiment upon both of the great contending forces and in or- der that that public sentiment may operate quickly and eff tablish a reign of justice vent Ahe alternating pressfon by er ized laborers. e aged to make and respectfully to pui seience, the public sense of justice to the ultimate tribun: common sense. It should bered that while organized does injustige, it is not or the purpose of doing i for the purpose of securing jus the classes of the civilized worl have heretofore been most oppr Human society is in the t an industrial crisis, which compared to fermentation. That fer- mentation necessarily involy pres sure and hardship, but in | ural process we know that purificatio better conditions 3 sult. We should therefo deavoring as much as pos: imize evil results of its mi icies and acts, encourage s its general purpose. Ald the mighty fermentati TNl 1t purifies at las And the future of e ped: Is made brighter than the past. the may 1 pol- ud. AN 42