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AN UNUSUAL man has given us an unusual book under the above title. For many years W. A. Appleton as secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Great Britain has been an outstanding figure in the British trade union movement. He is far from popular among labor politicians and those who seek ephemeral advantage by methods not fundamentally sound. Among trade unionists, Appleton is estimated as one of the clearest thinking men in the movement-as one who applies his sound judgment to carrying through plans that make higher opportunities for life available to the common people.Appleton is a lace maker by trade who treasures an artistic home hidden behind a wall and masses of flowers. His idea of a pleasure outing is a trip to a high grade art gallery. His chosen calling finds him daily trying to bring opportunities for beauty, orderliness and spirituality into the lives of the makers and users of tools. His own thinking and living are ordered in accord with a fundamental philosophy upon which he squares all his problems. His book illustrates his habit of mind and work for it is the by-product of his careful consideration of problems-on paper. Failure to analyze desire, circumstances and possible Mr. Appleton says, facilitates the spread of dangerous propaganda and leads to wasted activity. Certainly, no one has been more impervious to sophistry thaa Appleton and it would be well if more of us schooled ourselves to the discipline of reducing our thoughts and arguments to writing and studied the result in cold black and white. Loose thinking and mental laziness are responsible for many human misfortunes.Each chapter of the book is the presentation of the author's conclusions upon a distinct though related problem. His fundamental philosophy is admirably stated in the chapters Labor and Capital and Trade Unionism. The commodity theory of labor he regards as the fundamental reason for existing trouble between Labor and Capital........ What We Want and Where We Are is an unbiased review of trade unionism as developed thus far, showing the continuity of trade policies as illuminated by a conscious philosophy of life, and indicating a future filled with still greater possibilities for service. It is a book that should be read by all students of labor problems.- The American Federationis [1922]* * * * *Equity is a roguish thing; for law we have a measure, know what to trust to; equity is according to the conscience of him that is chancellor, and as that is larger or narrower, so is equity.-John Sheldon. * * * * *From the political point of view there is but one single principle-the sovereignty of man over himself. The sovereignty over myself is called Liberty.- Victor Hugo.

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9781089710912

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