What are our laws against sweatshops but laws acknowledging the justice of regulating the amount of the day's work? And why do we refuse to permit unions to do for themselves what we do on a sentimental, philanthropic, haphazard basis, through our "sweatshop laws," for the miserable, unorganized workers of the slums? TO THE MERCHANTS PLEASE LISTEN PATIENTLY TO A DISCUSSION OF THE LABOR UNION FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW. We invite the merchants to consider the question of unions and of high wages from THEIR OWN point of view. If we err in our statements or conclusions we shall be glad to print replies and criticisms from responsible merchants over their own signatures. This we maintain: THAT IN PROMOTING THE WELFARE AND INCREASING THE WAGES OF THE GREAT BODY OF WORKINGMEN, WE PROMOTE THE WELFARE AND INCREASE THE PROSPERITY OF ALL LEGITIMATE MERCHANTS AND BUSINESS MEN. The unions make mistakes. The employers make mistakes. The unions are often unreasonable. The employers are unreasonable sometimes. No doubt in America the workingman is more exacting and more highly paid than anywhere else. But in America, also, the merchant is more quickly and numerously successful than anywhere else. ---- As a subject for our text to-day we shall take the street-car lines--surface, underground or elevated--of any great American city. The success of every street-car system is made BY ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE CITY. Every woman who brings a baby into the world in a great city adds so much value to the stock of that city's street railroads. She increases the gross income of that railroad by about three dollars and sixty-five cents a year with each child to which she gives birth. Therefore the street railroad should properly serve the public that gives the road its value. Next in importance to the traveling public come the human beings that work on the street railroad--the conductors, motormen, gatemen, gripmen, engineers, etc. This newspaper fights constantly to improve within reason the pay and the hours of work of the street railroad employes. This we do for the sake of the employes themselves, and for no other reason. We demand better pay for the men that they may lead decent American lives, feeding and clothing their wives and children, and educating their children properly. We demand short hours for them, that they may live part of the twenty-four hours WITH their families, knowing their own children and bringing a little pleasure and companionship into the lives of their patient wives. We are proud of the fact that we have helped in a small way to increase the prosperity and happiness of many tens of thousands of honest families, that we have increased the OPPORTUNITIES of many thousands of children.