Frostburg mining journal., 1883-01-13

Slt|Egisrellang.
RIGHTS OF LABOR.
Hon. Jere 8. Blacks Opinion as
to o-Catle.t Conspiracy.

to So Called Conspiracy.
Two years ago D. R. Jones, prssi-
dent Of the Miners Association, was
arrested at the instance of the WAY
erly Coal Company and tried in
Westmorelsnd county, Pa, for con.
spiracy. His ofsnss was that, in
company with other miners and q
brass band, he visited the works Of
the Wavsrly Coal Company for the
purpose Of inducing their miners to
strike for higher wages. Jones was
convicted and sentenced to one day &
imprisonment in the Wsstmorsland
county Jail. Since then the Wavsrly
Coal Company have preferred another
charge Of conspiracy, based on the
same ground, against Jones and the
propristors Of the National Labor
Tribune. of Pittsburg, claiming $70.-
600 damages. The case is set for
trial next month. Jones wrote to
Hon. Jsrs s. Black for his views and
received the following in reply:
II cannot promise to be present
at your trial, because I have other
engagements which are likely to
make it impossible. I must, there
fore. decline any tender Of fees
which would bind me to act a. your
counsel. Icannot See anything con-
stitutional in the case as you at ate
it, but it involves some points Of
criminal law which, though interest.
ing. are easily settled. Any number
of employers may combine together
and act in concert to reduce the
wages of their workmsn, and nobody
has ever called that conspiracy, but
the laborsrs in shop unite to in.
crease their wages and threaten to
quit work unless they are better paid.
This, according to old decisions in
England and America, is criminal
offense. More recent cases, however,
lay down the rule that q body Of
laborers may as lawfully say what
they will take and employers deter.
mine what they will give. Some.
what slowly, and with evident rsluc-
tance, capitalists have suffered the
judicial mind to reach the conc lusion
that the employer does not exactly
own the workman. If, therefore,
the aim of your association was moth.
ing worse than to put up the price Of
your labor to satisfactory standard,
and to countsract the natural ten
desey of other interests to reduce it,
you are innocent people, and the
court will say so. infer from your
letter that you solicited others to
join with you and make demand
for wages as high as your swn, or
else stop work. That was not wrong
either. If you had the right to form
the association, you had the equal
right to get as many into it AZ you
could, 50 that outsiders might NO t
defeat its purposes by cutting under.
But you did not cen6ns your msm.
bsrship or your influences to your
immediate fellows, working together
in the employment of the sane mas.
ter. You went to another mine,
owned by other parties, and persuad.
ed, or tried to persuade, the under.
paid coal .diggers there, that justice
to themselves, as we'll A. to you, re.
quirsd them to lay down their tools,
unless they got the rate generally
received in the neighborhood. At
first blush this looks like Intern ed.
ding with matter which did not
concern you, butin truth you had a
fair interest in it because the accept
alton of smaller compensation by one
man always dsprssses that Of another.
Your resistance to low wages was NO
doubt weakened by the submission
of others near you. This principle is
understood BY employers. If Scott
and Garrett and Jswstt would agree
to reduce the wages of the laborsrs
on their railroads 20 Fer cent, Van.
derbilt's refusal to do likewise, would
be thing of evil example in their
eyes, and they would exert all their
influence to make him come down to
their level. Persons engaged in a
common cause, whether it be to raise
or lower wages are entitled to the
aid Of others, if they can get it BY
fair means, They charge you, how
ever, with getting, or attempting to
get, the concurrence you wanted