The Hickman courier., 1877-07-27

The Railroads Still VVar-IDg.
Reaching throughout suns
North. East. IA Hd w est.

Reaching throughout tine
North, East. :0Bd West.
An article elsewhere in this issue does
not give commen surate idea Of the grs@
railroad strike which has been prevailig
the past week in the United States y
extends over all the great railroad lines
North, East, and West, embracing sSoJRe
| larger cities to greater or less IN
New York, Philadelphia, Pittsb
Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, C5ttst Cjsi5s -.
and Louisville, and all the tos<kA-$i'l
cities connected there with by alrosss'
This embraces preity'much all the States
of New York, Pennsylvania, New jersey,
Mary land, Ohio, Indiana, and alli.the
Western and Eastern States. No freighis
are carried, North of the Ohio river.
1t is manifest that this strike, which
exceeds in magnitude and.fury, any thpgl
ever witnessed on the American continent
was the result of deliberated plan By
organization of working-men throughout
the United States. TIE miners, hands in
manufacturing establishments, and Ia
borers generally, fiooked in compact or
ganizations to the help of the railrosa
strikers, and they came long distances to |
join in the fight
1t is the old fight of capital against la
bor, and there is no philosophy in life tol
compromise the diG. rences permanently.
The natural sympathy of tie people Isl
with tho ,vorEipo-naopla Ebrt 4I,o f-..t
penee ..I,i .veffi 5sfng of socs59y as to-
place law on the side of the capital. Pri-
mariIy, we believe the 'strikers' were
right in.theiii struggle. The. great rail
road monopolies have systematically re-
dueed the wages of operatives, until, it I
is said, they are reduced below honest 1
living rates, and the workmen are forced 4
to let their families steal or starve. True,
there were hundreds of workmen, eager
t. take their places, at the reduced wages,
but they were generally unmarried men,
debauched to undermine Ethe old opera
tors with families. The laborer is. wor
thy of his hire, and these bloated rail
road corporations should pay living
wages to those who give them their time
and lives. Corporations ms well as indi-
viduals, have an indisputable right to FIX
the price they are willing to pay for la
Dor, and the laborer can accept or reject.
But. where laborers involve their all,
family, lives and property, in the inter
est of corporation, at understood if not
rates, there are corresponding
ri ghts on their side as to " holesale dis
charges and reductions, and the laws of
the country should protect them. The
great error of these workingmen is thar
instead of appealing to the law, they an.
agonize all The e. ter elements of socie
y by flying into riots We wish equiia-
DE laws could be devised to protect work
ngmen in such emergencies. These 3
,reat railroad companies snfFer loss by d
oolishly competing with rival lines, and T
Orthwith oder a reduction of 10 per C
ent. in wages, TO make these poor work Z
len pay il. They are possessed with an {
insane ambition to buy some couneeti ng
pad, or to build a branch, aud forthwith
lake she operatives pay it by 8 reduction :
/ wages It is so easy for the President, '
18th his salary fixed at SO or $50 900 :
ear, to order 10 per cent. Of The labor /
5 S45 a month. These things are wrong a
ID should have a remedy. n
The well-being Of the country, however u
n never tolerate. riots and nobs, even T,
the rioters are entitled to sympathy. II
's stress sEn .of The Correspondent. 5 ais--e
| TO be exercised for their suppression. \
L for the preservation of peace aud y
Ter, and for the protection of life an i r
operty. Hence, workingmen, whenever, ;
" resort to riots are always finally t
successful and generally only pile
uble on themselves and their families. o.
ne. in the pending troubles, they have n n
ced many of the leading railroads 10 ol
,ede to their terms, and we sincerely e:
pc all others viii come in, but in the
!, the rioters will come to grief They Il
Il be suppressed-thei leaders punish "
and thousands of them lose their in
elihood. Ga
The whole power of the country, Federal n
4 State, aided by the law-ahiding ct ly
ms, whether poor or rich, is being ex- sh
ed to suppress these rioters, because IS
sympathy of the country is with the ~ ~
lroad monopolies. u
This ''strike" is the most fearful event ia
the history of the United States, to .
ose who will give it thought. Our late n
Ill war, bitter as are its memories, was ?,
bright scene to the future Of this coun- Pc
=, with this communistic mine sur
arged, and ready to explode, at any :
,ment. shattering every form and sem =.
lnce of government. In this 'strike" d
are made to see that the american !"
exists, and that it is strong and =,
even in its infancy TO
er. ride Federal and State soldiery. =
It it feed upon the tyranny of raj lroad :,
ngs and the exactions Of the great mon 4,
olies of the l. n l. a few more years, and ir
hat fearful power will you see stalking
er the laud. From this day politicians n
i'll court it, and capital seeking to proteci ID
self, we fear, may still further enrage D
is a fearful prospective. 1t will demand N
e purest effort of the ablest statesmen al
avert it. After this out-burst, it may u
eep for months-for year, or two al
ears, but its organization is strengthen /
g, and the terrible mine is beneath our G
brio of government,
ROVE MADRID EgEEr- NK- q
u
as Candidates. etc. a
Edttcr Hickman Courier Seeing that i
10 IF our copseoua,t;aI co,x.-