38 POLITICAL ECONOMY 



rather an inferior workman, and his work receives its full due 

 of criticism ; he is an outcast, a pariah, and fear of personal 

 violence is not required to render this position a wretched one. 

 Some societies will not allow him to work in the same shop 

 with their members, even as though he tainted the air ; and 

 upon the whole, perhaps, these societies are the most merciful. 

 Workmen in general cannot be brought to see the wickedness 

 of their conduct towards the poor knobstick. They reason 

 thus : ' If he is a competent workman, and will pay a very mode- 

 rate subscription, we will receive him among us; if he is not 

 with us he is against us ; and while he acts as our enemy, he 

 receives great part of the benefits we painfully gain for ourselves 

 by self-denial and privation ; we strike, we starve, we gain the 

 victories, and then this fellow who fought against us shares 

 the spoil. Our wages rise, and so do his, unless we can prevent 

 it, as we certainly will if we can by any means within the law.' 

 Odd as it may seem, the knobstick takes much the same view 

 of his own position ; he feels himself a sneak, who for money 

 betrays his fellows, he looks on the union with fear and long- 

 ing, but with reverence. He is unskilful, poor, weak, and a 

 traitor ; they are skilled, rich, strong, and noble ; yes, even when 

 they morally kick him ; for they serve a common cause, he 

 stands alone an outcast ; he wishes he could work better, could 

 scrape that entrance-money together, and pay the fine standing 

 against his name. Sometimes he does and feels himself a free 

 man at the very moment when he would generally be described 

 as entering into slavery. 



The above description is drawn from experience among the 

 engineers. In trades where the union is weaker, non-society 

 men may meet with less contempt, and greater facilities in 

 joining are often held out ; and again, there are unions which 

 treat them much worse, refusing to work in a shop where a 

 single non-society man is employed. With the engineers, 

 every man would belong to the union if he could. In other 

 trades there are doubtless men who disapprove of the conduct of 

 the unions, and would much rather not belong to them or 

 acquiesce in their proceedings, but who are nevertheless driven 

 into the unions by the harassing conduct above described ; but 

 we believe this to be a small class. In considering the tiv.-il- 



