Labor, like other elements of society, has often been selfish,
narrow, vindictive; but it has also shown itself earnest and
constructive. The conservative trades union, at the hour of this
writing, stands as a bulwark between that amorphous, inefficient,
irresponsible Socialism which has made Russia a lurid warning and
Prussia a word of scorn, and that rational social ideal which is
founded upon the conviction that society is ultimately an organic
spiritual unity, the blending of a thousand diverse interests
whose justly combined labors and harmonized talents create
civilization and develop culture.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
While there is a vast amount of writing on the labor problem,
there are very few works on the history of labor organizations in
the United States. The main reliance for the earlier period, in
the foregoing pages, has been the "Documentary History of
American Industrial Society", edited by John R. Commons, 10 vols.
(1910). The "History of Labour in the United States," 2 vols.
(1918), which he published with associates, is the most
convenient and complete compilation that has yet appeared and
contains a large mass of historical material on the labor
question.
The following works are devoted to discussions of various phases
of the history of American labor and industry:
T. S. Adams and Helen L. Sumner, "Labor Problems" (1905).
Contains several refreshing chapters on labor organizations.
F. T. Carlton, "The History and Problem of Organized Labor"
(1911).
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