Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-06-06
CHICAGO LETTER.
corre.popdence pubIlo Ledgsr.

Because the miserable weather is ma
terially ipiuriDg all kinds Of business
as well as casting a cloud over ind
vidual happiness. 1t is cold enougl
for November, rainy enough for thu
most dismal season, and muddy anC
slushy enough to make even a piouI
newspaper man forget his early mora.
education so far as to use a sprinklinl
of profanity when giving full ex.
preston to his feelings Of disgust.
Strikes and lockouts are the most eX'
citing events in Chicago and vicinity
The tanners, or most of them, are still
on the rampage, and the iron workers
are doing likewise. Yesterday 1OO(
operatives Of the iron works at Iron
dale, a southern suburb of Chicago,
quit work. They are very much
disturbed, and the retail trade is suf-
fering thereby. The spirit of the
strikers is very defiant and deter
mined, and an outbreak of a
serious character may be looked for
at any moment. Several minor riots
have already taken place; but difficult
tyof considerable magnitude occurred
yesterday evening in the southwestern
limits OF the city, at Brighton Station,
neal Western avenue and Thirty.
ninth street, when a Chicago 4 Alton
accommodation train, going south, was
taken possession of for awhile by fifty
or sixty unknown persons, some of the
employees much abused, one passenger,
Judge Pillsbury, of Pontiac, ILL.,, Sc
verely, but accidentally, shot in the
groin; the conductors head cut, and
q number of negro and white peo-
pie taken from the train and beaten
severely. These latter, it appears,
were what some union organizations
call "scabs," or men who fill the places
of discharged or striking union men.
For this o%ffense, it is believed, they
were assailed. Chicago detectives and
police are engaged in an attempt to
discover the ~ringleaders ofthe digrace-
full riot. 1t is a terrible state
Of affairs to contemplate, when
'monopolists' and certain ele-
ments of what is termed
labor" should SO endanger the public
peace, and set the laws Of the country
at open defiance. A few hot heads do
all the mischief. 1t was this sort of
indiscrete and ill-liberal element Of
the nation that caused our late terrible
war, and heaped upon the land SO
much horrible misery. Surely there
can easily be found a proper remedy
to reconcile the interests Of capital"
and labor" The relief sought for by
the "labOring class" could, it appears,
be more readily found through the
counsels of wise men from the ranks
of both parties, than by harsher meth
DDS. 1t should be remembered that
the employer is as jealous of his bust
ness rights, and dislikes "dictation"
in his conduct ofhis affairs, as much
as his employe does in his own pri-
vate affairs. This being the case, and
a principal that should be respected
by all, good counsel from good men
should be employed to create a bond
Of mutual interest between the en-
ployer and employee. 1t is the unde-
niable province Of every person to set
a price On his labor; and it is also the
prerogative of the employer to give
that price or not. These are inalien-
able rights. But their enforcement
should not be allowed to disturb the
public peace. 1t may not be out of
place to here state that our liberal
immigration policy is, more than any
thing else, the prime cause Of all the
trouble between low wage" employe
and fair wage" employe. Labor is
too plenty; or, more properly speaking,
there is not work enough for all in
need of it. The laborer is too numer-
Gus. Such being the case, it is only
natural that persons having work to
do will employ the person who will do
it cheapest, providing it is done right.
We all, individually, are in the same
boat. If competition in mercantile
affairs is universally practiced, and
not productive Of riots, why should
not the same state of affairs
exist in the ranks of labor?
Certainly you will not pay Jones eley-
en- cents for sugar, if you can get it
from Brown, his neighbor, for ten
cents you don't care whether
or not the latter sells it at first
cost. And you won't pay one white
washer S3fOr what you can get as good
a job done by another for 81. In this
respect we are, Individually, like the
capitalist or "monopolist" employ
er. This view Of the matter is wor-
thy OF serious editorial action By the
PUBLIC LEDGER, and the rest Of the
press of the country.
A fatal fire occurred in Chicago
yesterday. One life was lost, several
persons were wounded, and a great
deal OF property destroyed. The struc-
ture was wooden, and used as a plan
ing mill. 1t was a regular fire trap.
and Its destruction long predicted.
Loss, S90,000-no insurance. The
victim Of the conRagration was John
Asrtheister, the foreman. In endeav.
orlng to save some sketches and
draughts he sacrificed his life.
Chicago's Mayor is in favor of mod
lying the fire ordinance" in certain
regions, so that wooden cottages can
be erected. This opinion, it is said is
for the benefit of families who cannot
erect brick houses, and in consequence
have to submit to high rents. lnsur.
ance men say that if such change takes
place they will raise their rates of pre-.
MUM.
Swindling lodges are numerous in
Chicago. The latest is this. The
operator procurcs a mans business
card upon this he writes a note to
the intended victims cashier. telling
him to send him twenty, fifty or more
dollars. Another note is written, the
victim asking his presence at some
well known business place. After the
unsuspecting dupe leaves his house in
answer to the latter note, then the
swindler puts the first note into an
x--.lo-. - 81.