380 THE CLASS STRUGGLE THE TRIAL 381 of hindering conscription. They were to prepare the way for the complete destruction of the It was necessary to use the favorable opportunity that presented itself to accomplish something that could not be half so easily done, once peace was declared. The Industrial Workers of the World are no longer only the organization of the migratory workers of the west. They have gained a firm foothold in the industrial centers of the middle and far west where they are a serious menace to the existence of the conservative of organization. Robert Bruere, who has made a thorough study of the theory and practice of the has written considerably on this phase of the question and shown the greatly increased importance of the organization in the economic life of the West and Far West. It is not the outlaw worker any longer, the migratory nomad, but the stationary laborer with a permanent home and family who constitutes a goodly part of the membership.
In other words, these outlaw organizations, whose members once sang proudly. Hallelujah! m a bum!
Hallelujah! Bum again!
Hallelujah! Give us a hand out!
To revive us again!
seven desks, each of which represented a separate industrial union construction workers, agricultural workers, and so on. The office was well equipped with files and typewriters. Each desk was occupied by a secretary and the work was going on as smoothly and as efficiently as in any corporation office which ever visited. It was very evident that a complete change had come over the spirit of the group. The organization which was observing could hardly be identified with its migratory parent which so few years ago had had the same name. This organization now is composed of men who are actually functioning in industry. They are, as the phrase runs, on the job, they are workmen, not out of work, but practically engaged in industrial labor. And in that fact lies the secret of the recent conflicts throughout the West. Vast masses are feeling the urge of the new idea. The rise in prices, the shutting down of immigration, the fact that for once the job is hunting the man, have put new energy into that portion of the working class which had formerly little hope and has aroused the aspiration that was formerly crushed under the load of unavoidable and hopeless misery. What was happening at Portland was merely typical. As one of the organizers in that city remarked to me, If you think this is anything you should see Seattle.
The is no longer the organization of the unskilled worker only. It is gaining influence everywhere among the upper strata of the proletariat and in consequence is becoming more careful in its tactics and in its attitude. The organization that once prided itself on its refusal to enter into contracts with the capitalist class is today entering upon agreements with its employers, and has thus won adherents in circles that were unapproachable before. But at the same time the idea of the class struggle, the evangel of Socialism, the spirit of rebellion against class rule is penetrating further and further into the American working class, and is gaining a firm foothold everywhere. The Industrial Workers of the world have proven to be a splendid instrument of revolutionary education. is in the way of becoming the refuge of all class conscious, selfrespecting American workingmen. The invasion of the into the fields of labor where once respectable labor of the of type held sway has begun. Something of this sort was brought out in the article written by Austin Lewis for the September October, 1917, issue of The ClassStruggle, in which he said. concrete example of its progress found in the City of Portland, where the organization had long had a hard fight to maintain itself. To my astonishment saw an entirely different condition of things than ever before in such a headquarters. There was a great hall capable of holding a thousand people comfortably. At one end of the hall was a rail and counter which separated the office from the hall, and in the office were There was a time when the organized capitalist class of America fought the American Federation of Labor as its bitterest enemy, when the National Manufacturers Association and organized labor waged their great and memorable battles upon the field of American industry. Those days have gone forever. The capitalists of this country have realized that