The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-01-15
WHOLE NO. l436.

I y
the subject will receive at your hand;
the consideration that it merits.
i ln this connection, "a preparation
for the work, il would be we'll to con-
time your patronage to the Pennsyl-
vania Museum and Scnool Of Indus
trial Art. and make some provision
for the exhibition and preservation Of
the valuable scientific library and
collections Of the Second Geological
Survey.
ADMIRATION.
The great question Of the day, is
the so-cslled conflict of capital and
labor. While we need not indulge in
gloomy foFbodiags concerning It's out
come, it is certainly q matter that
statesmen and legislators cannot safe
ly ignore. All the labor communi-
ties of the old world have passed
through precisely the same turbulent
career Of strikes, riots, outrsges, and
murders, which have excited so much
alarm in Pennsylvania Occurring
in every industrial community and
under every form of government,
they canuo, be regarded as menacin g
particularly republican institutions,
nor is the cause to be looked for in
our political organization. But the
direct and indirect losses aud miser-
! les they entail upon the community.
demand patient investigation of the
causes aud an honest attempt at re-
adjustment As mentioned above,
the Btate has paid for the suppression
of labor troubles an average of over
Sl04 900 annually for the past eight
years, and even q casual examination
of the annals will show that there
has been q growing frequency and
breadth of trouble and violence, and,
consequently, a corresponding in
crease in the expenses of their sup
preston. The direct loss to capital,
in the destruction of property, has
been very great, while the loss from
enforced inaction has been enormous.
The loss Of wages TO the working
class has amounted to many millions
of dollars, and habits Of individual
independence and thrift have given
way to demorslizing dependence
upon organizations The entagonism
Of class has been a fruitful source of
crime. The large sums expended 10
the detection and conviction # The
perpetrators of these outrsges, mus.
therefore be placed to the same &C.
count. The Mollie Mcguire murders,
ike the agrarisn murders 10 Ireland,
and the trades union outrsges. arson
and machine breskings II England.
were not the work Of the so-called
criminal classes. They did no, orig
mate in the derravity which d. liber-
ately selects criminality as q m lie Of
life or result from the sudden temp
tations Of passion or avarice. They
were essentially elass murders: aud
as is always the case 10 the bitter
ness engendered by such contention,
their criminslity was ignored by
many Of the class and nation ality
outside of the guilty circle of the or
der. Ii some Of the leading spirits Of
the class had been members Of a
board of arbitration "a representa-
tives of labor, with some Of .he EN-.
lployers on their agents as representa-
ltives Of capital, it is not unreasonable
10 suppose that most OF the disagree
ments that have kept the coal regions
in state Of turmoil, might have been
amicably adjusted, and many OF fthose
who were sssassinsted and OF those
who have beer hanged living to-day.
if spared in the ordinary course OF
nature, the life Of the average citizen
with all its uudeveloped possibilities
tof good and evil.
| Under these circumstances it be-
comes . highly important question
whether the policy Of repression ia
the best remedy that the wisdom and
humanity of the age can devise II
must eventually prove failure in
the United States. Under our polit-
ical Institutions the best way to pro-
jmote the spread of communistic ideas
is to hedge property with hsyonets.
In the long run, the policy Of eleva.
tion is safer and cheaper than the
policy OF repression. Probably 10
social movements are governed so
little by considerations Of interests or
more by mere sentiment and passion
than strikes and their attendant agi
tations. Strikes are pFecipitatsd
without reference to conditions or
prospects of trade or market, aud OBJ
stinately prolonged amer all hope Of
success has vanished Indeed the
chief obstacle to any re-sdjusimen. oi
the relations of capital and labor is a
seutiwental antagonism and unres.
soning jealousy. II il this which
prevents q mutual understanding
and knowledge Of interests and mo-
tivss. How much the action Of the
| Legislature can do 10 establish better
relations is something that can best
be learned from past and future ex
periense. 1t is certain. however,
that 10 be wholly effective arbitrs.
ton Of disputed points must be vol
untary, and possibly all that the
Legislature can do is to prepare The
way for such system by dissemina
ting information Of its formation
operation, and advantages, and exact
ing q simple code as model for vol
untsry arbitration.
/ In Eaalsnd. the system OF arbiira
ton and conciiiation originated with
the manufacturers aud operators,
and has changed. whe-s ever fairly
tried, the old leelssg Of bitter nostili
ty between the employers aad the
Iemployed, into one Of mutual sespec'
and confidence. With the same class
10 Pennsylvania, lies tbe responsible
ty Of the ini,istives with the Legisls
suse, the responsibility Of edoea
ton.
/ Deep ly impressed with tie import
snee Of bringing about. II possible, ,
mutual understanding OF the twt
Glasses, and creating an arrangement
for the smieable and rational settle
ment Of all disputes aad controve
sizes. gladly svailed myself. 10 the
early part Of the year. of the service;
of . gentleman, student of indus
trial questions, who visited England
to investigate the form, praetics
.I-~-t.--~ - -~.,rs, - H. -,~soo,