Open Shop Encyclopedia for Debaters: A Reference Book for Use of Teachers, Students and Public Speakers (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Open Shop Encyclopedia for Debaters: A Reference Book for Use of Teachers, Students and Public Speakers

This Encyclopedia is designed to meet the needs of debaters seeking information concerning the open shop. But it should also be of value to teachers and students of economics, especially in the field of labor relations. Investigators studying such topics as strikes, union apprenticeship, etc., will likewise find much useful material.

It must be borne in mind that the Open Shop question is simply one phase of the great industrial problem. There are other important phases of that problem which must be solved, but perhaps none of them concerns more directly the relations that shall exist between employers and workers, between fellow workers, and between industry and the public. The public is more and more realizing that it is vitally concerned in these problems. There is scarcely an industrial dispute which does not adversely affect thousands, in some cases millions, of people who are not immediate parties to the controversy. The public itself is realizing this; the ever-increasing complexity of the industrial structure and the resultant inter-dependence between men has forced their attention. The Winnipeg and Seattle general strikes, the outlaw railroad strike, the coal and steel strikes, and the Boston police strike have forcefully reminded the public that it must take an intelligent and active part in the problems of industry. We believe that when the public obtains the real facts as to these problems and the principles concerned that in the long run it will decide rightly.

The manufacturers certainly do not deny the right of the public to concern itself with industrial problems. Systems and organizations are justified only as long as they advance the welfare of society as a whole. There are principles of social justice, of justice to all parties concerned, which should prevail. They will prevail when and because the public takes enough interest to act. But the welfare of society must rest on more than principles of justice, for efficiency must be maintained. There must be as little waste effort as possible. Are the means adapted to the ends? Concretely, is the Close Shop based on principles of justice and is it efficient in serving the wants and needs of society? Is it sound economically and does it conform to American political institutions?

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