LABOR PROBLEMS.

That trade unionism has gained a foothold in almost every field of labor is emphasized by a recent development in the theatrical world. Though actors have previously considered their profession one of the arts, and therefore on a social plane above labor organization, recently they voted to submit a proposition to affiliate themselves with the American Federation of Labor. Since actors as well as motormen must protect themselves from possible encroachments of employers, the Actors' Equity Association convened simultaneously in five large cities, and voted unanimously to consider in May the proposal to unite with the largest labor organization in the world.

Many leaders in business, government, and the professions contend that whereas capital once exploited labor, today labor has gained so much power that it is beginning to exploit capital. Whether or not this statement is true, one fact is undeniable: when the differences between employer and employee are settled by arbitration, although trades unions do not necessarily obtain their demands in full, nearly always they are granted some concessions. According to the New York Herald, "A force has been unleashed which will be difficult to control. The trend is unmistakably in the direction of submission by all invested capital to the workingman or to an industrial upheaval many times more extensive and disastrous than the great railroad and other strikes in 1877."

This vital modern question concerns every man who will enter the field of business and have to deal with labor. To comprehend the situation, to discriminate between the fair and preposterous demands of labor unions, future business men may obtain light on this subject by studying it in college. There are many college students who come from environments where the ideas are moulded by men who have seen organized labor grow into power, and who have always dealt with it as a menace or unwarranted interference with their liberties. Undergraduates are not rare who consider the labor problem very simple: labor simply has to be fought. This is not the general attitude; but a sympathetic insight into the workingman's point of view is not too common. It requires a detailed study which no prospective business man should fail to make.

In the University there are two half-courses which deal with this matter in an unprejudiced manner. Their value is great; even more detailed courses in the subject might well be given.