‘I believe you.’
‘And that is all thrown away, and to that extent the working men are so much the poorer. Is not that a fact?’
‘Well, it is no use denying of it; but the masters have suffered as well, though you get no benefit by their suffering.’
‘And whose fault is that?’
‘The Unions’, I suppose. ‘They were beaten, at any rate.’
‘The Unions. I am glad you mention them, because there is another thing I have to say. I fear that you can never get good work as long as men are all paid alike, whether they are good workmen or not.’
‘But that is what we insist on more than anything else.’
‘I am sorry for it. Such a condition is fatal to individual excellence. Let me illustrate my remarks: I knew a man employed at a printing-office in connection with printing steel-plates. He was an intelligent, careful workman, and he did more work and better than the others, and earned more money. The other men conspired against him, and he found in his absence his work was spoilt, and his press injured, and he was driven away. Now, such cases are of constant occurrence. Let me give you another case: A man was taken into an office at a lesser rate than the others, and they gave up their work and had to come on the Union. Again, how often is a good man worried out of his place unless he joins the Union and works as slowly, and makes a job last as long, as the others! You complain of the great competition from foreign workmen—how is it that they are in this country?’
‘Ah! that’s the question.’
‘A question easily answered. Most of them are brought over on the occasion of a strike, and when they come here they stop here, and add to the overstocked market. Your regulations for the support of your members are excellent, and deserve all praise; your Unions also are most desirable when protection is required against hard and unjust masters, though the number of them is not so large as you endeavour to make it. But when you set up to dictate to masters as to whom they shall employ, you do injustice to respectable men willing to work, whom you compel to starve, and in the long-run you help to create that depression of trade of which we all complain.’