The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-08-09
THE PROTEST. OF LABOR.
An Admirable Review of the Situation
that Should BE Read by All
lVrom The cIncInnatl ENQUIRER. July 20 !

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riots, just to show we're freemen
We have had our demonstration of thi
sort and have sufficiently proved in thu
past few days that we are full-fedgeC
sons of liberty. We have shown thu
world that we know our rights, anC
knowing dare maintain; perhaps, to us'
the emphatic language of children, W.
have shown that 1--WE don't know any
body else's." 1t is written that who
would be free themselves, must strike thC
blow. 1t follows as necessary conse
quence that if there is nobody else tC
strike,we must aim the blow at ourselves
and this we have done. Now that We
have yindicated ourselves and the returns
are all in, except from the back counties
of Chicago, St. Louis and Louisville, lei
us take a little retrospect and see where
we are.
1t must be admitted, upon calm sur
yey of the debris, that everything was in
tolerably good temper under the circum'
stances. 1t has been a sturdy protest OF
the laboring classes against condition
of things which ought not to have been.
1t was accompanied by shock to the
material interests of the country, such as
WAS bound to result from the sudden
stoppage of a thousand railroad trains,
freighted with the wealth of a nation.
Most pitiful of all it has had its attendant
scenes of violence, destruction and hor-
ror rand some little of the miserable dregs
of thlevery has been stirred up from the
bottom of society in the Commotion.
Bat upon The whole, the summary
speaks W ell for the sobriety, moderation
and good order of the superb class of la
borers who struck the blind blow. The
movement swept all over great nation,
and there were but few locaities-not
more than three or fOur-where thele
were scenes to make the Chronicler weep.
In these exceptional cases it may be said
that the riots caught with scarcely more
accountability than belongs to a panic in
a theater: and, except at Pittsburg there
was no more loss of life than attended
the canseess panic at one of our own
theatres on fair afternoon little more
than year ago. Therefore, deplorable
as it has been, it may be frankly said that
the movement has been characterized by
a moderation on the part OF the strikers
such as could have been found only
among American workmen; and on the
other hand by tenderness and lenlencY
on the part of the authorities such as no
strong.handed government OF Europe
would have shown. 1t has been the
fashion in Paris to sweep the avenues
with grape when there was rising OF the
masses. 1t has been the fashion there,
too. to ruu the cutters with blood from
the guillotine when the masses got the
swav With this contrast before us we
ought TO ioin in fervent congratulations
thai. except as to the illtimed and lntem-
prate discharges OF musketry at Baltimore
and Pittsburg and the sudden revenge at
the latter place, there has been no more
than little occasional rutlianlsm III the
great strike, and no inhumanlty OF the
authorities.
The destruction of property has un'
doubtedly been a severe visitation TO the
iahoring classes themselves. There lsno
loss which they will not ultimately be
called on to make good. 1t is the way OF
the world, and the history of the world,
and probably it will always be 80 while
we have the poor with US. They have
seen how even now the strlngency ana
severity of the times was Visited lndl'
rectly on them. There was to be sud
den and rapid contraction OF the Ma
tion's money for the immediate pay menC
of a vast debt, and while the Admins
tration did not put its hand directly into
the workmans pocket, 1t accomplished
the same end as surely by squeezing MS
employer. The severe times Whlch
cansed this late cut on the laborers' wa
ges were the direct result OF the TOO rapid
movement toward resumption, and thus
the laborer has been called on, as he al
ways will be, to pay the debts OF those
above him.
The strike was not remedy. 1t will
only add to the grand total which the
workingmen must eventually pay, and
the losses from stoppage OF business are
comparably greater than those from the
burning of property. Nothing could be
more illogical than that the men who
honestly and resolutely protested against
the burning of cars and depots, as here
at Cincinnati, to interpose at the same
time against the running OF trains, for
this was itself an incomparably greater
destruction of value than would have
been the mere burning of depot or
two. 1t was an injury to every interest
in the land. Not even the steamboats,
we're benefited by the stoppage OF trains,
for these are dependent on tie trains to
bring their freights to the river banks,
and the statistics will show an actual
falling off of steamboat freights during
the time of this trouble.
But great as is the injury to the inno-
cent of the lane, AS well as the guilty and
serious as must be the additional burden
of labor to pay of, there may be some
partial compensation for the evil in the
fact that vast attention has been turn
ed to an evil system. No one can deny
that in an era of retrenchment, wages
must be cut down. Our laboring men are
intelligent enough to understand this fact,
and to give it frank and cheerful acqui'
escence when they can see that they are
asked to take their reduction only equal
lv with others in the land. But when
they read that Mr.. Thomas A. Scott re.
ceives from his various positions $l75OOC
every year, aud when they hear OF no re-
duction in his grand salaries, it is hard to
resist feeling that they are wronged
That railroad directory which shall begin
its relrenchment by cutting down the
princely pay ofits President and the div
/ idends ofiLs owners, will appeal so strong
" to the natural sense oil equity as u
meet with frank and cheerful response
from the whole body of educated Ameri
can laborers when their pay shall be re
duced at the same pro rata. Except
very few worthless and turbulent red re
publicans, there are no poor men in thl
country who ask or expect an equal di
vision of the receipts of railroad. The!
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