country. Nineteen witnesses before the Industrial Commission represented organized labor in testimony concerning the Chicago strike of 1900. Of these more than half were Irish. In one hundred and twelve unions in the building trades in New York, about forty per cent of the officers were of the same nationality. Analyzing the returns from different parts of the country, the same high proportion is manifested. In Massachusetts twelve out of twenty city Central Labor Unions were officered by Irish; and of twenty-two local unions listed for Connecticut fourteen were so officered.

The Irishman tends to monopolize the situation, not alone in the distinctively Irish trades and states, but peculiarly in proportion as the rank and file in the organizations are composed of the inert, non-Teutonic, unpolitical peoples of the earth.

He will hold his fair proportion of the offices in a company of Scotch, English, Swedes, or Germans; but his place is securely at the head of the line in a company comprising Bohemians, Slovaks, Huns, and Italians. The reasons are perfectly obvious: a ready command of English makes the Irishman their natural spokesman; his native eloquence makes him a most effective organizer; his strong sense of personal fealty makes him peculiarly faithful to the organization. Add to these qualities, tact, a generous good nature, and aggressive fighting qualities, and a rare combination is the result. They are precisely the qualities which have given the Emerald Isle so predominant an influence in the direction of our municipal political affairs. Kipling has put it well:

"There came to these shores a poor exile from Erin;

The dew on his wet robe hung heavy and chill; Yet the steamer which brought him was scarce out of hearin'

Ere 't was Alderman Mike inthrojucin' a bill."

One of the strangest features in the American situation, as contrasted with Great Britain, is revealed by this unique 20 NO. 557.

VOL. XCIII.

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position of the Irish. They tend to dominate and direct the policy of our American unions; while in the United Kingdom, they seem not only to have been backward, but rather unsuccessful, in the councils of the trade-unionists. The early English labor organizations were for a long time unable to assimilate the Irish either to their theory or to practice. According to the reliable chronicle of the Webbs, conditions of fraternal relationship amounting to tacit, if not formal, federation prevailed between the British and the Scotch trade-unions; but, after years of vain striving to incorporate the Irish successfully, the attempt was in some cases abandoned, as in 1840 by the Friendly Society of Operative Stone Masons. The records of years are filled with criticisms of the Irish trade-unionists from the British point of view. Even in 1892, according to the Webbs, no less than four principal Irish branches of the Amalgamated Society of Tailors suffered rebuke for their shortcomings. One of the difficulties in another case was well put: "Holding that there was only one element of danger, and it was the putting of too many Irishmen together." We need not examine as to details. The failings were those which we all recognize as peculiar to the Irish as a people. Far be it from me to underestimate the fine qualities and the magnificent contributions of the Irish-Americans to our national well-being; but with their virtues certain shortcomings are to be found, which are in many cases coincidentally attributable to our labor organizations. Not least among these are the qualities, admirable in certain predicaments, of aggressive combativeness, of blind and enthusiastic loyalty, too often coupled with an inability to husband resources against a time of need. Could the leaders of our trade-unions guard against every one of these faults, all human, but also may we say so? — peculiarly Irish, the proportion of successes to failures in the labor movement might be con

What is the attitude of the native American, or, shall we say, of the Americanized mind toward labor organization? Assuming that it is a question of individualism, or of personal initiative and independence of action, versus collectivism, or subordination to a class will, this question would appear to be answerable by psychological analysis. One would naturally expect the free-born, libertyloving American to rebel against the socalled tyranny of an organization, especially when the policy of that organization is dictated by a foreign-born majority. Such analysis by an appeal to mere psychology is, however, dangerous to an extreme in industrial questions. The factors are too complex. Action is too often a compromise between conflicting impulses, the love of individual freedom as against the desire for material advancement. Too often, also, the question is merely a quantitative one, turning upon the degree of individual subordination within or without the organization. Without organization the isolated workman may be entirely at the mercy of the employer; within it he may still be as clay, but the potter, at least, is one of his own class, while he himself has a turn at the wheel. The only satisfactory answer as to the native American attitude is to be found in the recorded facts of industrial life. It is difficult to obtain statistics, and not always easy to believe them when once they have been found. Only one investigation have I been able to find,

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and that from a predominantly agricultural state, a fact rendering the returns inadequate and somewhat inconclusive. The Minnesota Bureau of Labor made an especial attempt some years ago to discover whether the trade-unions in that state were controlled by the foreign born, and also as to the attitude of the unions toward American boys seeking admission. Returns were received from 1985 workmen. Of this number 59 per cent were born in the United States, and 41 per cent were of foreign birth. In the general population of Minnesota, on the other hand, only 38 per cent of the males of voting age were native born. This was taken at the time to mean that native-born workmen were one and a half times as frequent in the trade-unions as in the adult male population at large. The phenomenal growth of unionism in recent years in the United States would seem also to support this contention, for such progress could never have obtained without successful appeal to the great body of artisans of American birth.

On the other hand, it seems clear that the native American, as well as the foreigner, must be educated to appreciate trade-union standards. He must indeed, as the advocates of organization affirm, often be forced into the organization in the first instance, in order to test its benefits. Whether as a free-born American he will thereafter remain an ardent tradeunionist must depend upon the judgment which he may form after joining. Dr. Bushée, in his excellent monograph on Ethnic Factors of the Population of Boston, observes that rural Americans, particularly those from northern New England, do not appear to favor the labor organizations. Another interesting instance tending to confirm this view as to the attitude of the rural American is offered by the experience of the United Mine Workers. This is described in the excellent report on Immigration to which reference has already been made. For seven years after the organization of the

United Mine Workers in 1886 they struggled against the competition of the unorganized miners in southern Illinois. Even at the present time they are seeking ineffectually to enroll the native-born West Virginia miners in their organization. In Illinois, however, the case is more interesting, because the standard of living is considerably higher than in West Virginia. In 1899, in the mine districts of northern Illinois there were as few as 11 per cent of American-born miners, while in the southern part of the same state 80 per cent of the miners were pure-blooded Americans. These latter were in the main farm laborers, who resorted to the mines as a source of ready cash. These Americans were of ten willing to work for less than half the price per ton paid in northern Illinois. This they could do because of the greater thickness of the veins and their comparative ease of working. The competition of such wages was, however, none the less severe. Finally, these American miners were persuaded to come into the organization by the foreign-born miners in the northern part of the state. need not deal with the relative adjustment of wages effected, other than to say that it aimed to equalize not the earnings, but the competitive conditions. The important point for us to note is that the American-born miners were induced to demand higher wages, in order that their foreign-born competitors in another district might obtain a living wage. Organization aimed to benefit both parties, but the initiative came surely, not from the American, but from the foreign born.

We

The significant query for the student of American conditions is as to the future attitude of these Americans. Will they continue to be docile in the hands of their old leaders? Or will they here, as elsewhere, assume a more positive rôle in directing the policy of the organization? The future of American trade-unionism will depend largely upon the attitude thus assumed, not alone by these American

born miners, but by workmen of American parentage and tradition in every line of industry throughout the country.

Whatever our judgment as to the legality or expediency of the industrial policy of our American unions, no student of contemporary conditions can deny that they are a mighty factor in effecting the assimilation of our foreignborn population. Schooling is primarily of importance, of course, but many of our immigrants come here as adults. Education can affect only the second generation. The churches, particularly the Catholic hierarchy, may do much. Protestants seem to have little influence in the industrial centres. On the other hand, the newspapers, at least such as the masses see and read, and the ballot under present conditions in American cities, have no uplifting or educative power at all. The great source of intellectual inspiration to a large percentage of our inchoate Americans, in the industrial classes, remains in the trade-union. It is a vast power for good or evil, according as its affairs are administered. It cannot fail to teach the English language. That in itself is much. Its benefit system, as among the cigar-makers and printers, may inculcate thrift. Its journals, the best of them, give a general knowledge of trade conditions, impossi ble to the isolated workman. Its democratic constitutions and its assemblies and conventions partake of the primitive character of the Anglo-Saxon folkmoot, so much lauded by Freeman, the historian, as a factor in English political education and constitutional development. Not the next gubernatorial or presidential candidate; not the expansion of the currency, nor the reform of the general staff of the army; not free-trade or protection, or anti-imperialism, is the real living thing of interest to the trade-union workman. His thoughts, interests, and hopes are centred in the politics of his organization. It is the forum and arena of his social and industrial world.

Are the positive educational advantages of trade-unionism, in the solution of our pressing racial problem, more than offset by the evils which attach to the labor movement in its present status? If the raw immigrant finds himself ruled by leaders of the Sam Parks type! If he observes that the end in view is not to increase the efficiency of the workman, but rather to enforce rules for the restriction of output, in order to "do" the employer! If the opportunity for his children to fit themselves to become honest artisans is closed by absurd restrictions concerning apprentices! If the policy of "graft" is kept to the fore by secret agreements with capitalistic mo

nopolies to down their rivals, and jointly fleece the consumer, as has recently been revealed in the case of the New York Realty and Construction Company, the Chicago Coal Dealers' Association, and others, of a like kind, which might be named in our own Massachusetts ! If recruits are to be gained and held, not by the promise of tangible benefits, social and financial, but by the methods of the foot-pad and the anarchist! If these be the lessons taught by the Unions to their neophytes, the future is dark indeed. The friend of Unionism can only hope that these shadows are cast by passing clouds, and that a brighter day for honest labor effort will ensue.

William Z. Ripley.

It was in the vast, solemn precincts behind St. Peter's that I saw him first. Coming out under the pale November sky after a morning in the Vatican sculpture gallery, I suddenly found the cabstand at its portal the most grateful sight in Rome. He stood third or fourth in the line, and he had neither moved nor spoken, though his eye caught mine with a sympathetic sparkle. I saw that his small, black horse was plump and glossy, that the whole equipage, from his own dress to the well-brushed cushions of the open victoria, looked scrupulously neat; and, bidding the man drive to the Piazza di Spagna, I sprang in, with no thought beyond that of making this last course in a busy morning as comfortable as circumstance permitted.

"Your horse wastes no time," I said, when we came out into the great square, and shot across it through the spray of the fountains toward the bridge of Sant' Angelo.

"No, signore; the Moor is never lazy. That is his name, the Moor, from the

spoke again it was to secure them for the afternoon; and by the hearty wish for good appetite given me as I alighted at the hotel door, I was convinced that the master, at least, if not the Moor, still found cheer in the prospect.

I sat, smoking, near a window that overlooked the courtyard, when the man drove in at the appointed hour. And, waiting on to finish my cigar, I had for the first time a good look at him. In figure he was below the middle height, broad-shouldered, sturdy, and erect; naturally dark, he was bronzed by years of Roman sunshine; his cheeks were deeply furrowed, his features large and clumsy, plain indisputably; so that his face would have been heavy, dull even, but for the smile that seemed always to lurk under his gray mustache, and the responsive light in his sharp, black eyes. The soul of good-humored jollity illuminated him now, as he stood chatting with the portier; the horse put up his nose for a caress, and he turned in his talk to stroke his Moorship's neck affectionately. The hint thus given of their pleasant comradeship suggested a familiar horsedealing phrase, which, mentally, I applied to both. "Sound and kind!" I thought; and found no occasion to qualify that first judgment through any after knowledge. In all my travels along the world's highways a sounder and kinder pair than this, most assuredly, I have never known.

That afternoon, we drove far out upon the Campagna, where my tired brain sought rest and rumination from the morning's labors. The sky had clouded over, and in the mild, gray light the softened plain, stretching hazily off to the Alban hills, brought to eyes overoccupied with artistic detail their natural refreshment. We followed the old Via Latina, at first, toward the arches of the Claudian Aqueduct, by grass-grown walls and crumbling tombs ; then, turning from the straight road, we took a winding cartpath through open meadows and rough

pasture-land, into the heart of the wilderness; until, nearer than Rome itself, stood out the white villages of the snowcapped hills, - Genzano, Ariccia, Rocca di Papa, - my companion identified them, one and all, and the wine of Genzano was not so bad! At a sharp turn of the road we drew up on a bit of rising ground, to consider the strange, sombre landscape; and, looking back upon the city walls and towers, I asked my genial guide where he lived. Pointing with his whip, he explained that he lodged in the Trastevere, close under the Janiculan Hill; as we looked, in line with the cathedral dome. Then I inquired his name, and learned that he was called Bianchi Andrea, the surname coming first, in the usual Italian fashion. And when I commented upon this custom, "Why not?" said he, "since every one calls me Bianchi, - except my wife." Ah, he was married, then? "Oh yes, signore." And he had children? “No, signore; there was a child once, -a daughter, - but, alas! . . . there is a grandchild, signore, a boy, who lives with me, very quick and capable,— Hector is his name."

We drove on, encountering no living creature but a shaggy dog, left on guard over his herd that grazed in a neighboring field. An inquisitive pair of crows circled lazily above our heads; then, with croaks of disapproval, flew off to join their flock hovering over the great sepulchral tower on the Appian Way. Between us and that noted landmark of the Campagna stood a solitary farmhouse to which my vetturino drew attention. One could find fresh eggs there at a bargain; we must pass its door; might he have the signore's permission to buy the raw material for an omelet, to celebrate his name-day, which fell upon the morrow? To wait for a little moment only?

Of course this favor was granted him ; and as we approached the farm I looked at it curiously. Never had I seen a drearier dwelling-place. The stucco of