The daily gazette., 1877-07-27
From The N. iYyWorid. - i.,ai iu sIi.o. q.
A PLAINTALKWITH A PLAIN
"A ''' MAN 'm7'' a IsI' q,

A working man, who, verifies him
self like a man by sending us his name
and address, writes us a letter in which
he seems to insist that the strikers on the
railways are justified in laying violent
embargo upon the property of their ems
ployers and upon the business Of half
the country because that is the only way
in which they can secure whatthey want,
which, as he understands, is "enough to
live upon" We have already called the
attention of such persons as our corres-
pondent to the simple fact that there are
thousands of persons in the country just
as competent as the strikers to do the
strikers work, and just as much entitled
as they are to earn "enough to live upon,"
who think the wages which the strikers
refuse enough for them TO live upon BY
what law, human or divine, are the
strikers entitled to prevent these persons
by violence from earning those wages?
As matter of fact, the receiver OF the
New jersey Central Railroad, Mr..
Lathrop. who is az good Democrat az
our correspondent can possibly be,shows
in table which he sends ms today for
publication that the men who have struck
on his line were earning exactly the
same wages last month which they now
refuse, and he shows, too, that those of
them who earned the least We're earning
considerably more than men of tue same
grade can in other occupations. 1t APP
p"ars from Mr.. Lathrop's statement that
Drakemen ton the passenger trains on his
road earned from S45 to S52 n month,
while fremen earned from S6l to $40.
Would the wages of the firemen content
the brakemen? If 30, how can the fire.
men be- said to he living on starvation
wages? If, on the other hand our cor
respondent admits the great principle
that Soma iahnr iS worth mora tba n. .har
labor, at what point is the line to be
drawn which separates the down trodden
working-man from the bloattd capitalist?
We leave this to be considered by our
correspondent, who seems to us to be in
a fog. like n great many other people, In
regard to questions which are in truth
simple enough if men will but try to look
at them fairly, without class prejudices
and in accord with the principl on
which the whole fabl1c of society rests.
Our correspondent further pleads that
the strikers are "nOt in sympathy with
the lawless acts which have been COM
mitted" OF course he believes this to De
the case, and we dare say that a gre at
many OF the strikers believe this of them
selves. The strikers ON the New Jersey
Central, it will BIZ seen, assured Mr.
Lathrop yesterday that-they would do
their best to protect the protect the pro-
This is all very well. But is it not a. law
less act" to prevent the owners of trai n
Of railway cars from meving it?.l Is it
not "lawless act" to prev ,ut men who
are willing to go to work on a railway
train from doing so? Is it not a claw less
TACT" to impede the travel of half the
country; to prevent farmers and graZiers
from getting their produce and theiI
caJtle TO market; to cut Off the supplies
OF food from the crowded populations Of
half dozen great cities? these are all
lawless acts-acts which deserve severe
punishment--acts which men cannot be
permitted to perform with impunity in
civilized community. We presume
that our correspondent lives some where
wears cloth es, eats and drinks. SupPos.
he needs a new pair of boots, and find'
he can buy them cheaper at some othel
shop that he can at the shop where ht
has heretofore dealt? Suppose the mas
ter of the latter shop should stop him il
his own doorway, offer him pair oi
boots at the old price, and, informing
him that bootmakers cannot get enough
to live upon unless they get precise y
that price for such beots, should inform
him that he must stay IN the house I'll
he is ready to pay that price?