of society on a co-operative basis as a means of correcting- the
present evils. They would either entirely abolish the pri
vate ownership of all industrial processes, or cause the pro
fits to be shared with the laborers. In view, however, of
the present constitution of human nature, the futility of
such a scheme is at once appai-ent. The selfishness, the
g-reed, and the corruption which characterize every other
phase of human activity would appear to the'r fullest extent
in this case, since so many interests are concerned, and thus,
the very objects which socialism is intended to secure would
be defeated. Either the employers as a class would dis
appear, and the disturbances would be confined entirely to
the laborers themselves; or, if there should be no profits to
divide, as in the case of commercial crises, the working-man
would soon be reduced to the verge of starvation.
Negotiation, however, is superseding the ideas of arbi
tration and of socialism, and is a more modern method of
preventing, rather than of settling, labor disputes. The
tendency of the present day is towards concentration and
organization in industrial enterprises, as well as in civil and
social affairs. The gathering together of all the small units
into a single centralized power, the consolidation of many
individual interests into one unified body, point to a means
of relieving the tension which exists between the employers
and employed.
Nowadays, we encourage the association of capital, we
allow the existence of monopolies, and we permit trusts;
but it was only toward the close of the last century that la
bor organizations began to be favored by the most conser
vative of our industrial leaders. Formed first as a means of
protection against injustices done to the workingman, labor
unions have lost much of their local character. And as
political power passes more and more out of the hands of
the moneyed classes into the hands of the people, the policy
of such organizations will rest on a broader basis. They