were really united. But the strike might also be lost. This is the chance that cannot be taken. If we are going to have a general struggle the workers must go into it properly organized and prepared to effectively support each other to the limit.
Federation must give way to amalgamation, just as isolation gave way to federation. There is no other way out of it. In the phase of isolation the unions, in spite of their handicaps, made considerable headway and abolished many abuses. In federation they have vastly increased their power and established conditions that amount to a semi-revolution in the railroad industry. But infinitely greater tasks lie ahead, tasks that will demand the utmost unanimity of purpose and action from the whole army of railroad workers. And this unanimity federation cannot give. So long as the unions remain autonomous bodies, each with its own set of officers, just that long will they stand first for their respective craft interests, to the detriment of the general welfare, and just that long will real unity among railroad men be impossible. This can only be had when the unions are all amalgamated into one body. Then the resultant organization, with one set of officials, one interest and one goal, will develop such tremendous power that the workers will be able to make real progress on the long, hard road to emancipation.
