Rensselaer Journal, Volume 12, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1902 — A FRIEND TO LABOR [ARTICLE]

A FRIEND TO LABOR

The appointment of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., chief justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts and son of the famous American author, to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice Gray as associate justice of the United States supreme court, will receive the hearty approval of the laboring people of the country, says the Muncie Star. As a friend of organized labor Justice Holmes long ago took a decided stand. It is his recorded opinion that organized labor is a legitimate and necessary outgrowth of existing conditions. Of the necessity for the labor union, he said: “One of the eternal conflicts out of which life is made up is that between the effort of every man to get the most he can for his services, and that of society, disguised under the name of capital, to get his services for the least possible return. Combination on the one side is patent and powerful. Combination on the other is the necessary and desirable counterpart if the battle is to be carried on in a fair and equal way.” Thus the labor union has arisen. The men who must offer their services have united and the result has been for their own material advantage and the good of the country as well. The advancement of the laboring man’s Interests has meant the advancement of the interests of all the people, for the laboring man’s interests affect no single part of the country. The combination of the rank and file of the great army of workingmen, an organization as magnificent and powerful as the combination of the forces of capital, has not resulted in contention and bitterness, but rather has been the prime factor in the harmonious march of industry and the general progress of society. As a soldier, writer, scholar, jurist and citizen Justice Holmes has won high distinction. His sane judgment may be trusted in the Important-posi-tion to which he has been elevated. President Roosevelt has the congratulations of the American nation upon his excellent choice.