The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-07-25
THE STRIKE
How Labor Is Fighting Monopoly
viii ID Nini

The all observing topic throughout The
country is the telegraphers strike. the
fight of labor against monopoly. viii
the men VIM is the question on all
sides, supplemented by the earnest hope
thai tbey will. When one considers the
mighty power that these men are fight
ing. it is no wonder that the sympathy Of
all men 90 out to them They are fight
ing a gigantic monopoly backed BY
500, 10000. They are fighting men as
hearlless and relentless as Satan himself.
ThaE are fighting men who By the scratch
Of their pen can bring millions Of dollars
to their aid. They are fighting men who
have for years studied how to Cypress
labor. how TO enslave il; who have mas
tered the problem of stealing and keep
ing out of the penitentisrE. They are
fighting men whose whole aim in life has
been to cheat and steal, rob and plumber,
and by that means have hesped up mil
lions IF dollars. And now. when
the men strike for principle,
when they demand higher wages
to furnish bread for the families. they are
compelled 10 fight another force The
miserable creatures who sneak in and
take their places But will the strikers
Einz Hardly They are fighting a cor
poraiiou whose wealth is unbounded,
whose power ia unknown. who is able to
crush anything before it. They are fight
ing q corporation that can spend million
dollars. yes three, to defeat labor That
is the kind of an animal the men have set
out to fight and it viii be no disgrace if
they fail But it will be disgrace to
America Itwillbe blot on our boosted
Tree country Is country free where a
monopoly is allowed to grow up and
flourish. that can crush 10000 laboring
men, A monopoly that can control state
legislatures. and can 90 into the halls Of
congress aud secure the passage Of laws
to suit its purposes. 1t is to be hoped
that the time will come when such gigsn-
tie mOnopolies will not be allowed to
flourish They flourish in the United
States, bat in no other country on the
globe Such gigantic swindle, such a
wholesale plumber of the people could not
exist IN England, it could not exist in
France or Germany, but it can exist in
free America, where all men are born
equal, and equal rights is the foundation
of our boosted freedom. This telegraph
monopoly is q tremendous thing. Its
sign is displayed In almost every village
aud hamlet. town and city in the land
Western Union Telegraph Office" hobs
up at every railway station, and is q sigr
that monopoly rules. If the telegrapheri
fail In gaining their end. they viii accom-
plish one thing, which viii, In the end
work good to them and to the whole
people II has called the attention Of the
American people to this wholesale robber
Their attention has been called to Il
before. but not in such 1
forcible manner The people recognize
that Jay Gould and his plundering ma
! IL. - -. -, 49,. ali ~ &ha ,Doar,l.
must be forced forever 70 bow to the wi,
of his great machine. But when thu
people once get after him and his ma
chine for the oppression of labor; wheI
they once get to shooting their ballots a
him. he win succumb. Gigantic monop-
olies will die, and the lAborer viii re,
ceive price for his labor.