The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-05-10
THE EXTENT or THE LABOR TRoU-
BIFS


BLEs.
The average reader will be astonished TO
learn the extent Of the labor troubles in tie
north and east. The figures recently pub
lished from reliable source show that th,re
is tremendous army Of strikers now in Il
country, the bulk Of them being in Penn
sylvania. IL is estimated that directly, r
In consequences Of strikes, at least, there
will be during the coming summer quar-
ter Of million of laborers out OF employ
ment, and placing the average duration OF
strikes at forty days, and average wages at
81 per day, the loss to the industrial and
mechanical enterprises Of the country Will
thus reach ten million days, or. the equiys-
lent thereof, and to the operators them
selves Of $40. 100000 in money. This is,
therefore, matter OF tremendous and vital
interest to the entire country, and is in one
sense as disastrous as war itself. Every
dollar so lost by employer or employe is a
destruction Of so much value in so short a
time cannot but be seriously felt in all the
m ,ney circles Of the Union. II may be felt
extending itself but gradually , but it will De
50 extended most assuredly, and the whole
country suffer in consequence. When We
reflect tina. these strikes are almost invari-
ABLY unsuccessful, and that the operatives
are finally, by want compelled to 20 back
to work under the old conditions and pay,
after losing anywhere from $5,000OOO to
81 900, 600 in wages, the rank insanity and
alb iurdity manifested in organizing them is
olly too apparent. When finally sue
cesslul after two months of paying
labor have been lost tho actual
wages for ten months under an increase
OF % or SO cents per day is less than the
twelve months work would have been uu-
der the old pay, To the laberer 1t is the
most costly undertaking he could pursue
TO the employer it is disastrous in many
quarters, and to the country the effect is
most injurious in turning tens OF thousands
OF men, women and children upon the
charities of tho world virtually. Capital
has prolited by the lesson taught by the
unions, and has also combined in its dlle!
ences with labor. BY reducing the volume
Of production and Withdrawing hundreds
of thousands of dollars from circulation
the prices of commodities must 60 up
while the laborer's means for obtaining
what he needs have disappeared altogether
When finally, too, as he generally does 20
back to work under the same conditions
which impelled him to quit, he becomes
more completely than ever in the power
and clutches of his master. II Is doubtful
In short If all the strikes that labor has
INDUCED in for the past ten or twenty
years have accomplished an iota of i'm.
provement or advantage to the cause of
labor at large, while they have thrown to
the dogs so many millions of money, and
caused such widespread suffering. The
idea of Door laborers throwing away in this
country at this time 100000 every four
days Is preposterous, and that neither labor
nor capital can stand it, is patent to any
thinking man. fit were in the nature of
an investment the case would be different,
but the contest, so far us
the. strikers are concerned is
practically hopeless from the start.
The great difficulty will always be that
strikes are contrary to the first principles of
business, political economy and liberty it.
self, in that they attempt to interfere with
and regulate business by forced and arbi
trary determinations. Then, again, they
seldom represent the will of the majority,
and are lacking therefore in the first essen.
tlals of success, perfect unanimity and en-
thusiasm. Wages depend upon supply
and demand, and the state of population
aud business. No other law will ever regu.
late them as successfully as will this natural
one, if the Legislatures should resolve for a
century and strikes continued until the
millennium. The natural laws of business
will always control business operations
and arbitrary determinations will II, yer
produce other than a mere temporary and
injurious effect thereon. 1t is blind ignor
ance that is causing all this trouble, abso.
Lutte antagonism to the first principles o.!
selt-nterest and common sense, and the
necessity fo- greater enthusiasm in the
cause Unpopular education is directly ap.
parent. Such an mpoverishment of labor
and shutting down ofthe wheels of industry
at this time is particularly to be regretted
and dreaded, as II Is the belief in numerous
well-informed circles that we are approach
ing crisis. If the press would do its duty
in keeping the folly, and failure and losses
of strikes constantly before the public until
public opinion was more enlightened in
the premises, they would undoubtedly
prove less frequent. The strikes last
year cost the strikers at least $9,OOO,-
900, so the estimate goes, and we
have seen from the figures before men.
toned in this article that much more money
than the last named sum will be literally
thrown away this summer. 1t is an ap.
parent absurdity on its face to say that the
laborers of this country, crying poverty all
the time, can afford to throw away annu.
ally in idle and futile contests with capital
over visionary and arbitrary principles,
from $S,0OO,0Oo anywhere to $l5,0O0,0 900
They ought to be made to see this clearly,
and we could then expect wiser action Oh
their part.
CINCINNATrs FESTIVAL.
The great event of last week in Cinci matt