centrifugal forces in the labor movement were bound to assert
themselves. The leaders of the American Federation of Labor, in their
struggle against the Knights of Labor, played precisely upon this
centrifugal tendency and gained a victory by making an appeal to the
natural desire for autonomy and self-determination of any distinctive
group. But originally perhaps intended as a mere "strategic" move, this
policy succeeded in creating a labor movement which was, on
fundamentals, far more coherent than the Knights of Labor even in the
heyday of their glory. The officers and leaders of the Federation,
knowing that they could not command, set themselves to developing a
unified labor will and purpose by means of moral suasion and propaganda.
Where a bare order would breed resentment and backbiting, an appeal,
which is reinforced by a carefully nurtured universal labor sentiment,
will eventually bring about common consent and a willing acquiescence in
the policy supported by the majority. So each craft was made a
self-determining unit and "craft autonomy" became a sacred shibboleth in
the labor movement without interfering with unity on essentials.

The principle of craft autonomy triumphed chiefly because it recognized
the existence of a considerable amount of group selfishness. The Knights
of Labor held, as was seen, that the strategic or bargaining strength of
the skilled craftsman should be used as a lever to raise the status of
the semi-skilled and unskilled worker. It consequently grouped them
promiscuously in "mixed assemblies" and opposed as long as it could the
demand for "national trade assemblies." The craftsman, on the other
hand, wished to use his superior bargaining strength for his own
purposes and evinced little desire to dissipate it in the service of his
humbler fellow worker. To give effect to that, he felt obliged to
struggle against becoming entangled with undesirable allies in the
semi-skilled and unskilled workers for whom the Order spoke. Needless to