The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-07-31
GEnGtrteuiaencer
The Great strike and It's Lessons
WHEELING, July 80.
Edition. Intelllgeneer

The general strike OF railroad employees
is our form Of protest az ainst the over.
lhadoWing power Of the gigantic Corpor.
Ations which control them. Men engaged
In the strike may not understand all Of
the causes that produced 1t, or foresee itl
results; with them 1t is struggle against
threatened diminution or loss OF the
means Of livelihood; but II Is, none the
less, a most telling protest against the
prevailing style oil railroad management
In this county Railroad officials would
have buliness men believe that 1t Is only
another instance Of contest between la.
Dor and capital. 1t Is no such a thing.
Under proper management where buSl-
meas 10 conducted on sound and healthy
principles, there Is no "irrepressible con.
fict" between labor and capital. These
two elements are so interviewer, SO mutu.
ally dependent on each other in modern
industry that there can be no jar or dis.
cord between them under healthy man.
agement. II discord comes between them,
there is "a screw loose" somewhere-the
condition Of affairs Is abnormal. The con-
slant and every recurring necessity Of
labOringmen TO provide from day to day,
the means oil living for themselves and
families, is a constant, ever present, and
most powerful motiye-the strongest Of
all motives Of human action-to induce
them 10 accept employment for com.
pensation sufficient for the purpose,
Men do not labor merely for the love Of
il, but for tho purpose Of procuring the
means Of supplying their wants, actual
or supposed. Whenever the compensa-
ton 10 be gained falls short Of this end,
you take away from them the incentive
TO labor, and they will not work. This is
limit below which you cannotgo, in the
nature OF things.
On the other hand, men with accumu.
lated wealth in their possession-capital,
We term it-invest 1t in industrial pur-
suits, for the purpose OF procuring in
comes from it. They do not invest their
capital In business merely for the sake Of
doing business, or for the sake Of giving
employment 10 labor, but for the sake Of
deriving profit from ii; and when an en-
terprise fails to yield profit it is aban.
doned, and the capital invested in it is
withdrawn. And thus the limit to the
Investment OF capital is reached, and you
cannot go below 1t, Now, in any given
case, the capitalist may be INSCRIPTIONS
and exaoting, and deny to the laborer his
Just share Of the profits earned, or the
laborer may be capricious and demand a
larger share Of the profits earned than he
is iustly entitled TO. In either case we
have the conflict between labor and capt.
tai about which We hear 60 much. In the
third place, the business may be so mis-
managed as to deny to both labor and
capital a sufficient profit or cOmpensa.
tion. l hold to the opinion that the pres.
entrailroad troubles may be traced to the
last named cause-mismanagement.
For a long time there has been com.
plants against the excessive charges and
discriminating rates oil railroad COM
paniesj and these complaints, wide spread
ms they were, led to the Granger organiza'
ton. They were not always logical or
reasonable, but still were founded on an
abuse which the GrapgerS made war on,
and struggled TO abate. These Changers
recognized the TACT that railroad charges
were not regulated according TO the ser.
vice rendered, or benefit received, as they
are in other pursuits. but that they were
arbitrary and capriciousi a system oil
expedients and devices to suit clrcum'
stances, unfair and unjust. Let US go be-
low the surface, and look 10 the causes
which produced this state oil things,
Railroads are, or ought to be mere
common carriers oil goods and passengers
Before their day, we had wagons, stage
coaches, canal boats and steamboats,.
There was competition among them, and
their charges were regulated and
limited by such competition. There
were few monopolies then,
Suppose one corporation had had the
exclusive right to run its wagons and
coaches over the National Road, does any
one believe that Its charges would have
been kept down to the natural level, or
that trade and business would have been
built up along its line TO the same extent
that Il was with free competition?
Again, suppose at certain points along
the National Road other roads, also un-
der the exclusive control OF other corpo-
rations, had diverged, all however ten
ding 10 the came terminus. At these
competing points the rate OF charged
would have been much less than at any
other; less in fact than the cost Of trans.
portaiion, and consequently they would
have been places Of active business, while
intermediate points would have Ian.
guished and ultimately gone to decay,
These rival corporations, In order 10
make up for losses occasioned by unrea-
sonably low rates at competing points
and to make profit out OF their general
business, would have been compelled to
make excessive charges at all places
where composition did not exist.
Now, this is Just the condition Of affairs
under present railroad management
Everybody will recognize the fitness
Of the illustration. Railroad COM
panies have the exclusive right te
run cars over their roads, and only a
certain points are they brought into com
petition with rival roads; at such points
rates Of charges are unreasonablyi low
often below actual cost, while ut all inter
mediate points they arc excessively high
The consequence has been the building
up certain large cities, and the DECLINE