The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1871-05-18
The Violence of Trades
Associations.


The events of the last two month
nave revealed tho spirit aud working
oil trades associations in light whicI
must cause thoughtful men 10 paus
and reflect, In the anthracite coal re
region over forty thousand men, arte,
having for months refused TO work o,
any other than their own terms hav,
rcsortel TO threats, intimidation ana
actual violence for forcing their vii
upon others. 1t tmattcrs not that the i
lLmllics are starving, that some. in or
der to provide the means Of sui sis,cnc,
Tor their furnishing children are willip.
to begin work on n compromise wi Ii
the employers, nor that men ircm other
places have been iounl willing to worn
on terms rejected by the miners Th,
strikers are determined that they on /,
shall work the mines, and that ,h,
work shall be done on their own terms
In order TO enforce their will on tn,
employers, they have rcs)rtcd to arson
and riot, and have Systematically kcp,
away others who were willing to work
by threats Of vengeance aud death
This is the condition Of things We wit
ness at home
Abroad, We have still! more s,rikitp
development Of the lawlcss tendency
OF these associations. Paris, and in
deed France, is to day convulscd by
the violence Of men misIcd by the doc
trincs Of the Workiuemcns Associa-
tion. Tho men who head the Com.
muno are, for he main part, the most
intelligent leaders Of workiugmeu' :
movements on the continent Of Europe
Their dream is to establish u "univor
sal republic" under which the rights
Of property would be ignored and the
wild French phaniaSy OF "cqullity" re
allied. Protesting TO discouutcnance
war, and after having encouraged tn cir
disciples TO resist all military service,
these men do not hesitate to exercise
the war power with a mcrcilessncsS
rarely experienced in intcrnecinc war.
fare. .. They plundcr; they supprcs,
the expression Of hostile opinion; they
muzzIo the press; they enforce a mcr
ciIcss conscription in short, there i,
no form OF tyranny known to military
dcSpots which these cxpouuders of the
workman's idea Of liberty have not
out-lIcrodel.
by their works yc shall know them, +"
and applying ,hi, inlalliablo test, what
shall be said of these out-workinss of
the ideas underlying trades associ.-
tions ? What sort Of liberty is it that
needs such violence to secure it? What
real respect for the wcll-bcipg Of soci.
city can there be among men who thus
violently seek to cniore their will on
others! In what respect are the DOM
inant spirits of those associations more
tolerant than the most absolute dcs.
pots? Protesting desire for uniycr.
sal and perpetual peace, they sciza the
first opportunity to make war,
Workingmcn who have more COM
mon sense than fanaticism will see that
they have nothing to hope from the
leadership Of men animated by these
ideas. Tho moment that power ap.
pears to como within their reach they
forget all their former professions and
resort to measures utterly inconsistent
with their principles. There is no
other ground upon which working
mems associations can hope to make
any progress than that OF cntiro tolera-
ton. The moment they attempt TO
coerce either their own members, OF
capitalists, or the State. they conccde
their faith in tho justice of their cause
and practically espousc that creed Of
violence 20 which all their misfortunes
are traceable. If they have no faith
in the reasonableness and force Of their
principles, tho sooner they cease to
agitatc them the bcttcr.-JNercuntile