Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-01-05
ii 3s;;asirr ;yuteillgenrfs.
-aLiAY EVENING JAN. 5, 1888,
THE CoN>PI3ACY Laws.
IaD.. I'ay Unto for Projection As Well AS
Capital.

Capital.
Two ears ago d. II. Jones, president of
,;,c N'uCrs' Association, was arrested at
tho r.-iancs of the Waverly coal company
:tr:,i med in Westmoreland county for
c,,i,- piracy. His o:fense was that, in com.
lany with other miners and brass band,
IT.. isited the works Of the Waver!y coal
company for the purpose Of inducing the
miners to strike for higher wages. Jones
wa, "Onvictcd and sentenced to day ) i'm
T.. ;~"nnent in the Westmoreland county
ial Since then the Waverly coal COM
pAry has preferred another charge of
>I.iracy, based on the same grounds
u. inst Jones and the proprietors Of the
National Labor IriJuEe, claiming $1O,OOo
damages. The case is set for trial next
month. Jones wrote TO hon. Jere Black
for his views and received the following
answer:
81 cannot promise 70 bc present at your
trial because | have other engagements
which are likely to make it impossible. L
must therefore decline any tender of fees
which would bind me to act as your coun-
sci. l do not sec any constitutional
question in the cause, as you state
il; but il involves some points Of cti'ilnal
law. which, though interesting, are easily
settled
Amy number of employers may com
bme together and act in concert TO reduce
the wages of tliciI workmen, and nobody
has ever called that :; conspiracy bat il
the aborers in shop unite to increase
their wages and threaten to quit Unless
they are better paid, this, acco.ding to the
old decisions in England and America, Is
a criminal offense.
Moro recent cases, hUwcver, lay down
tl.e rule that body of labJrers ma y as
lawfully say what they viii take as em-
ployers maydcterminc what they will give.
somewhat slowly, and with evident re
Iuctance, capitalists have suffered the
judicial mind to reach tho conclusion
tha. tie employer does not exactly own
the workmen. If, therefore, the aim of
your association was nothing worse tAGn TO
put up tho price of your labor to a salts
factory standard and to coUintcract the
natural tendency Of ether Interests to re-
duce it, you are innocent pCol'le and the
conrt will say SO.
Il infer from your letter that you solic-
tied others TO join with yoa and make a
tiemani for wages as high rs your owE, Or
else stop work. That was not wrong
either. If you had 4 right to form tie
association, you had all equal ,ht 10 get
rs many into it as you could, SO tha5 out
siticrs might not defeat its rarpose by
cutting under, but you did rot corfine
your membership or yOur influence TO
ruur Immediate fellows working together
with you III the employment OF the same
master. You went to another mine owned
by other parties and persuaded or tried to
L. 4. >.,1 4
that Justice TO themselves, rs to you, re-
quired them to lay down their tools unless
they got the rates generally received in
this looks like iutermeddiipg witt! a mat
ter which did not concern you but in
truth you had fair interest in it, because
the acceptance OF smaller compensation by
one always tends to deprsss that Of an
other. Your resistance to low wages was,
no doubt, weakened by tue submission Of
otllors near you. This principle is I'M
derstoud by employees. Ii Scott and
Garrett and Jcwett wculd agree to reduce
the wages of the lab0rers on their railroad
90 per cent, Wander bilt's refusal TO do
likewise would be a thing OF evil example
IN their eyes, ana they wOu!d exert all
then influence to make Him c,;uIo down to
iiic.r level.
- Persons engaged IN Il common cause
vhether it he 10 raise or lower WAGES,
aro entitled Ia the support OF others il
tley can C"t II hy lair mean They
charge, you, iowcVC", with getting or
attempting IL get the concurrence you
wanted 1'ct GrattS. that IS 10 say, by force
ana with itrMS. If EO'!r association went
to the ether Iairc il Il body or sent d very
l?rCe delegation, 1t was not worse than
any other big meeting, unless yUu behaved
with unlawful violence. Our Institutions
;:It habits rather encourage the pcaccablc
show Of numbers IS = means uf purSuaSiOn.
All organizations, political, religious AID
charitable resort 10 Il, hut you
went there, o. said Y0u would 90,
with a brass band. | do not thinl,
this Implied violence o. aty threat OF
violence. A trumpet or trombone is not
4 deadly weapon, and music is not eSscnt-
tally wicked, CT else it would not lie used
rs it always is IN church ami camp meet
ings. In addition to these charges OF
conspiracy and riot you arc accused, as
understand, OF bribery. Tic miners whom
you were trying to ccnvert to your way of
thinking, had agreed that they would for
felt SO apiece If they did not work a full
year at the rate Of wages previously agreed
upon between them and their employers.
This penalty Of accepting your doctrine,
and acting upon it, they could not pay
without assistance. Your association
offered to give them the necessary material
aid. This does not come within any COM
mon law or statutory dctiution OF bribery
that | know Of.
{" may have misconceived THIS whole
case. IL have. it is your fault | take
tho facts as | gather them from your
statement, which does not profess to be
perfect or full. But, assuming it to lie
proximateIy correct as 4 general outline,
You are certainly in no danger of even
being tried, for the district attorney is :.
gentleman much tco sensible to ask con-
vction on such grounds"