The highly skilled American mechanic is one of the chief assets of this country; the intelligent, scientific, up-to-date American farmer is another highly important asset. These two classes of citizens ARE THE UNITED STATES. Between them they are more important than all the rest of the nation put together.
AND YET THEY ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THEIR CHILDREN.
The workingman of to-day is the father of the future.
The trouble with us is that the employer, unlike the owner of the fine horses, has no interest in that workingman's future or in his future family.
He employs and treats the workingman as the casual heartless customer would treat that fine horse if it were rented by the day at a livery stable.
There is much to be said, no doubt, on the side of harassed employers, many of whom are fair-minded men, and many of whom are put to unjust annoyance by some of the labor unions' mistakes.
But, first of all, the employer must realize the RIGHTS and the EQUALITY of his workmen. And as a patriotic citizen he must realize that the welfare of the future is in the health and vitality of parents to-day.
By limiting the amount of work which they do in one day our mechanics enable themselves to preserve some of their vitality for mental work, for educating talks with their children. THEY GIVE TO THEIR CHILDREN THE VITALITY WHICH THE SWEATSHOP SLAVE CAN NEVER GIVE.
What are our laws against sweatshops but laws acknowledging the justice of regulating the amount of the day's work?
And why do we refuse to permit unions to do for themselves what we do on a sentimental, philanthropic, haphazard basis, through our "sweatshop laws," for the miserable, unorganized workers of the slums?