The Labor enquirer., 1884-04-05


movement whether anv man ever mis-
understood this? Every man who reads
Of the labor question Knows that it
means the movement of the men that
earn their living with their hands; that
are employed and paid in wages; are
gathered under roofs of factories; sent
out on farms; sent out in ships; gathered
on the walls. In popular .acceptation
the working class means the men that
work with their hands, for wages SO
many hours day, employed by great
capitalists; that work for everybody else.
Why do we move for this class? why"
says Mr.. johnson. don't you move for
all workingmen ?" Because, while Dam
iel Webster gets $4,000 for arguing the
Mexican claims there is no need of any
body's moving for him. While Rufus
|Choate gets 5000 for making one argu-
ment to jury, there is no reed of mov-
ing for him, or for the men that work
with their brains--that do highly disci-
plined and skilled labor, invent and
write books. The reason why the labor
movement~confines itself to single class
is because that class of work does not
get paid, does not get protection. Mental
labor is adequately paid, and more than
adequately protected. 1t can shift its
channels; it can vary according to the
supply and demand. If man fails as
minister, why, he becomes railway
conductor. [Laughter.] If that don't
suit him he turns out and becomes the
agent of an insurance office. If that
don't suit, he goes west and becomes the
governor of territory. And if he finds
himself incapable of either of these po-
sitions he comes home and gets to be
city editor. He varies his occupation as
he pleases, and doesn't need protection.
But the great mass, chained to a trade,
doomed to be ground up in the mill of
supply and demand, that work so many
hours day, and must run in the great
ruts of business, they are the men whose
inadequate protection, whose unfair
share of the general product, claims
movement in their behalf
THE CARDS PLAYED By CAPITAL.
Well, the third charge brought by Mr..
Johnson against us is, that we are cruel
we combine; we prevent this man labor
ing there, and we won't let that man
learn our trade; we form trades-unions
To be sure we do. We say to the Chinese,
"Stay at home don't come here by i'm
portation come by emigration" We
say to the crowding millions who try to
swamp our trade, Stand aloof, we won't
teach you" We say to the mills Of Low
ell who have turned us out of doors, we'll
starve you into submission. Well, tits
a narrow contest, it's an unjust, it's a
cruel, it's an avaricious method" So it
is. Where did we learn it? Learned it
of capital. Learned it of our enemies.
l know labor is narrow. l know she
is aggressive. l know she arms herself
with the best weapon that corrupt civii-
zation furnishes-all true. Where do we
get these ideas? Borrowed them from
capital every one of them and when
you advance to us onthe level of peace
unarmed, We'll meet you on the same.
While you combine, and plot, and
defend, so will we.
But Mr.. Johnson says, Come into the
world with the white banner of peace"
Aye, we will, when you disarm. How
foolish it would have been for Grant to
have sent home his Sharpe's rifles to
Springfield. and gathered all his cannon
in New York, and put all his monitors
in the harbor of Norfolk, and gone down
to Virginia with $4,000 unarmed men to
and says, "They have shotted their can
non to the lips; they have rough ground
their swords as in battle; they have
adopted every new method; they have
invented every dangerous machine and
it is all planted like great park of
artillery against us. They have incorpo-
rated wealth they have hidden behind
banks; they have concealed themselves
in currency; they have sheltered them
selves in taxation; they have passed
rules to govern us; and we will improve
upon the lesson they have taught us.
When they disarm we will-not before"
[Applause.
LETTING THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG.
Well, then, the fourth charge is found
in the Daily Advertiser. We had meet
ing at Framingham, and passed set of
resolutions we adopted platform, and
the next day the Daily Advertiser
granted US the condescenscion of an ar
ticle criticising our action, especially
mine and they described what we had
adopted. They painted its horrible ten
dency. They said: IF you adopt that
principle, it will lead you to that land so
on to that, till the final result will be
-" l held my breath. Laughter J
said to myself, What will it probably
be-? Perhaps the stereotvped ghost of
the French Revolution, that's what's
coming. "The final result will be"
Horrible! l thought probably they
would paint millionaire hanging on
every lamp, post. The final result-per-
hans it will be Mormonism. Laughter.
Soo;otv diesolvad into its ORIGINAL ele-