A great movement must be judged by its general results,
not by mere incidents which history rightfully always forgets.
Human nature is what it is. In the meantime, union leaders
are doing all that they can to discourage violence and foster
the spirit of dignity, and to acquire confidence and encourage
reliance on purely moral and economic means. — American Fed-
erationist, Jidy, igo6.
In no institution on earth is the controlling power so com-
pletely in the hands of the rank and file. Many national and
international unions have the initiative and referendum, not
only as it affects laws, rules, resolutions, strikes, lockouts, and
the like, but also as to the nomination of candidates and elec-
tions of officers.
The very day that any union official departs from the path
laid down by organized labor his representative position in it is
put in jeopardy. The bonds existing between the members and
officials are mutual confidence, obedience by the representatives
to the mandates of their constituents, continual unity in purpose,
and responsiveness to the cause which has brought all together.
The pretense by critics that any leader of American labor



24 LABOR AND THE EMPLOYER

follows the bent of his own vagaries, dictates a course of action
to a set of blind followers, or makes rules and regulations to
suit his own ambitions, is to be taken no more seriously than
vaudeville horse-play. The assertions that the members of or-
ganized labor are not themselves fully responsible for their
movement is insulting to American manhood. — American Fed-
emtionist, May, igio.
