wants. The average man, if left perfectly free to do as he chose, would go hunting or fishing rather than present himself at some social function, say a reception. And when one thinks of some of the more serious social activities which Groos would class as play, such as dressing in fashion, having as good a house as one's neighbor, educating his children as well, holding membership in as high-toned clubs, and so on, he can appreciate that these make as heavy demands upon the will as tilling the soil, keeping books, or directing a bank, or preaching, or instructing a class of students. In general, the latest activities in racial evolution are hardest for the individual; the lines of least resistance run in the direction of the primitive pastimes of the race, especially if these have persisted for a long time.

M. V. O'Shea. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN,

THE HORSESHOERS' STRIKE OF PHILADELPHIA.'

LABOR has found the union its most effective weapon in wringing unwilling concessions from the hands of capital; while capital has, in turn, found association or agreement the most effective means of resisting what it deems the unreasonable demands of labor. But, in a competitive system, the temptation to disregard agreements for the sake of personal aggrandizement is much greater for capital than for labor. Although done with all outward show of good faith, such breaches of contract are sure to be discovered sooner or later, causing dissent among those who could otherwise unite for a common cause. Labor always profits by this dissent. Such was the situation among the horseshoers of Philadelphia in June of the present year, which resulted in a strike of the journeymen. Though purely local, this strike is, nevertheless, of much interest to all who are concerned with labor problems.

The strike was begun on June 9, 1902, by the Journeymen Horseshoers, Local No. 6, against the Master Horseshoers' Protective Association, Local No. 23. The strike lasted over a week, in which time both parties were in constant conference. Before entering into the causes of the strike and the demands of the strikers, it may be well to give a few words in explanation of the classes of men engaged in the horseshoers' trade. A complete shop includes a master, journeymen, and apprentices. The masters and journeymen are organized in unions, while the apprentices join the ranks of the journeymen as their term of apprenticeship expires.

THE MASTER HORSESHOERS' PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION.

The Master Horseshoers' Protective Association is an incorporated body which was organized under the laws of Pennsylvania in June, 1893, and reorganized in November, 1897. Now, a “master” is simply an employing horseshoer paying wages to men under him; but to be eligible to the association he must, according to the constitution, have worked at the trade and served the required term of apprenticeship. These qualifications, however, are not always strictly insisted upon; for a widow of a master horseshoer is allowed to continue his business by paying the regular dues of the association. Again, Professor John W. Adams, of the University of Pennsylvania, represents as a master horseshoer the "shop" of the Veterinary School, an institution which was obliged to join the association as the result of the adoption of a stamp by the National Horseshoers' Protective Association in 1898. The use of this stamp is regulated by the by-laws of the local association. Thus, the members of the association are not permitted to drive or tighten shoes that have not been put on and stamped by a member of the association. The stamp, however, can be put upon new shoes only at the time they are fitted, and a heavy penalty is imposed upon any member keeping stamped shoes in stock. In addition to the stamp of the national association, each member must stamp his own name on each shoe which is put on a horse in his shop. The object of the stamp is to be able to discriminate against non-union shops. Thus, if a horse shod in a non-union shop should lose a shoe and be taken by his owner to a union shop to have the shoe replaced, the union shop will refuse to do the work. But union men will gladly put on

more new shoes bearing their own stamp.

The preamble of the constitution of the masters' association states that “one of the grand objects” of the association is to rescue their trade from the conditions into which it has fallen; to elevate themselves to that condition in society to which they, as mechanics, hold themselves justly entitled; to place themselves on a foundation sufficiently strong to secure themselves from further encroachments; and to elevate the conditions of their industry in Philadelphia and vicinity.

Further objects of their association are set forth in Art. II of the constitution, as follows:

one

or

OBJECTS. SECTION 1. For the purpose of promoting concert of action amongst our members relative to reforming present methods of competing for work and adopting a uniform scale of prices.

Sec. 2. To eliminate from our ranks all incompetent hands who bring discredit upon our trade, much to our injury.

SEC. 3. To assist and encourage each other in business necessitates ever being actuated by the peculiarities of brotherhood, which bind us together in

a common cause.

SEC. 4. To enjoy the advantages of mutual improvement and aim to elevate the craft generally; to decide all differences that may arise in and between our members, and in general to determine and to decide upon all customs and usages affecting the trade or business interests of the craft. The decisions of this association thall be subject to an appeal to the National Horseshoers' Protective Association.

The real cause for the formation of the association was that stated in the preamble. For ruinous competition had so lowered the price of shoeing that there was little profit in the trade. The formation of the association did much to promote the objects of its incorporation, but the journeymen were not slow to see that, as employees, they could also materially better their own condition by concerted action in an organized union.

THE JOURNEYMEN HORSESHOERS. Journeymen horseshoers are divided into two classes, viz., floormen and firemen. A “floorman” works on the floor, receives the horse when it enters the shop, removes the old shoes, prepares the hoof for the new shoes, and drives the new shoes. The chief duties of a "fireman" are choosing and fitting machine-made shoes, or making new shoes from the "bar" and fitting them.

In order to be eligible as a journeyman horseshoer one must have served an apprenticeship of four years and be able to command minimum wages. For the past two years the journeymen horseshoers in Philadelphia have received the following minimum wages by agreement with the masters as the result of a former strike: Floormen receive a minimum wage of $2.75 per day, and firemen a minimum wage of $3 per day. Men working both on the floor and at the fire, as they are compelled to do in

men.

the smaller shops, receive a minimum of $3 per day. Furthermore, the masters agreed to employ none but union journeymen. This promise, the journeymen maintain, has not been kept by all union shops, and there has been some talk among them of adopting a stamp to be used on all shoes made or put on by union

The effect of such a stamp would be to render the masters' stamp useless, for by its use the journeymen would at once be aware of the employment of non-union men in the masters' shops. They would then refuse to work on horses wearing shoes that did not bear the journeymen's stamp, regardless of whether they bore the masters' or not. Many of the masters feared that this would be the next move of the journeymen in case they should come out victorious in the strike here under consideration, and this partly accounts for the way in which the final settlement was made.

THE DEMANDS OF THE JOURNEYMEN. The demands of the journeymen horseshoers in the present strike may be divided into major demands and lesser demands. The former are chiefly concerned with the hours of labor, upon which the journeymen refused to compromise. They demanded a nine-hour working day with a half holiday on Saturdays during the months of June, July, and August, and that the shops close at 4 P. M. on Saturday during the remainder of the year. They asked no increase in wages, but were content with their present wages at the reduced hours asked for.

Among their lesser demands they insisted that fifty cents an hour should be paid for all overtime work, for every hour or fraction thereof. They refused to do any overtime work during the hot months. Overtime work was to be allowed only during the time of "sharpening" (sharpening consists in welding sharp calks on the shoes, when ice and snow frequently render this necessary to prevent slipping). The journeymen also asked that they be allowed one day in each year (in common) as an outing day.

All that the Philadelphia journeymen demanded had already been granted to journeymen horseshoers in New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus, O. And so the