The Labor Journal’s Defense of the Working Class
An Everett editorial invokes Lincoln to critique the 'damnable' industrial conditions and the 'open shop' movement of 1910.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It might as well be understood first as last that the union men and women in this city will not stand for the open shop. With the experience of every open shop city in the country to guide them the unions are determined to hold what they have gained. Open shop invariably tends to disruption of union organizations, which fact has been demonstrated beyond question. The keynote of the character of Abraham Lincoln was sounded in the early years of his political career when he said: 'I was born and shall ever remain in the humble walks of life.' While other men strove for honor or money or love of power, Lincoln strove that the burdens of all humanity might be lightened. Could he see today the evils of the sweatshops, of child slavery, and other damnable features of our industrial system, he would again cry out: 'If I ever get a chance to hit that institution, I will hit it hard.'
“Could he see today the evils of the sweatshops, of child slavery, and other damnable features of our industrial system, he would again cry out: 'If I ever get a chance to hit that institution, I will hit it hard.'”
Everett’s labor history is defined by the struggle between unions and the 'open shop'—a term for anti-union workplaces that remains a flashpoint in contemporary labor debates. This piece captures the fervent, moralizing tone of early 20th-century labor advocacy as it sought to connect the legacy of the Civil War to the industrial conflicts of the Pacific Northwest.
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