The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1885-01-29

Z
relation of Slaves to their Mas
ters, and of right should so stand,
and not otherwise; and
Whereas. the SAID wage wor-
kers not seeing the matter exact
ly in that light and shape. and
impiously refusing 10 believe it
to have been so ordained in the
order of nature and the provi-
dence of God ; and
Whereas, in this state of af-
fairs it becomes necessary TO 81
lence their rebellious clamors
against the high behests of the
syndicates aforesaid, and to i'm
press them with a proper and
prudent sense of the true nature
of their dependent and helpless
state and condition, therefore,
Be it enacted, etc.
All that is the true meaning OF
the Bill: the translation of it in
to plain language, which the
working men of the State will
understand. 1t Is designed to
place the laboring men OF the
mines and furnaces, and all who
are employed by corporations ol
any kind, wholly at the mercy OF
their employers: to compel
them, but none the less sure
methods, to receive for their la
Dor whatever meager pittance
the syndicate may graciously of.
fer; or go idle, without hope ol
help for themselves and then
families, and steal or starve, and
die and be damne', if it so hap
pens. with no escape from the IA
pacity of their tyrants. and nc
help nor redress. nor protection
from the law of the land. The
power of the State is to be mar
shalled to strengthen the hand ol
the robber Of labor, and break OF
slacken the arm of the worker
The peculiar shame of this ras
cally business is. that its cham
pion was elected as a DEMOCRAT
and musters with that party as
a Democratic Representative.
All this deviltry is aimed al
Hooking Valley. 1t is chiefly in
the Valley that laborers have
been scared away from working
Tor syndicates desiring to hire
them. But there is another side
TO all that, and Mr.. Weldy. him
self a resident of the Valley, is
not ignorant of it. If he deemed
it necessary to legislate- against
the intimidation of laborers, why
did he ignore the fact that it was
at least equally necessary 10 pro-
vide protection for laborers
against the notorious rapacity
and rascality of the employing
corporations? He has lived long
in the Valley and can not he un-
informed of the extent to which
labor has been oppressed, out
ragged and ruined by the greed
and merciless extortion of the op-
orators in the Valley. Fully
aware is he that the labor !rou-
bles are and have been but the
natural and if not the wholly
commendable, at least pardon
able protest of manly nature
against fragrant injustice the re-
bellion of free men against the
deliberate purpose, and cruel at
tempt, to reduce them 10 the CON
D1TIoN of slavery, without the
name. Known to Mr.. Weldy as
fully as to any one else was this
side of the matter. but that was
not his side. Easily enought for
getting the dictum of the divine
teacher, that "the laborer is
worthy of his hire he vet tena
ciously kept in mind the fact that
the hireling must earn his fee =
And thus We get the "Bill to pre-
vent the intimidation of labor
ers."
Let us look into this matter a
little deeper. Failing to force
the miners and other laborers to
work for the merest pauper pay.
t. e syndicates proposed to drive
them from the Valley. And
then they raked the slums Of the
cities, and collected the rabble of
many regions. The tramps.bum
mers, loafers and dead beats of
our country, niggers and all the
thugs, vagrants paupers. con
victs. of Europe-in short the off
scourings of scoundreldom all
over the world. We're gathered
and dumped in the Hooking Valley; to
work, in their fashion, for wages that WOO
starve the better men residents there. and
who were to be driven away by the press
ure and presence of the worthless, lousy,
reeking hOrdes thus brought against them.
Free, honest, Intelligent, industrious ana ana
exemplary citizens to be driven into exile
by the cOngregated rag-tag and bObtall OF
Europe and America.
1t is q matter for wOnder.t that intellirent
and decent American citizens raised earn
est, and energetic protest against this dis
graceful attempt to compel them to choose
between pauperism, crime. or actual Sla
very? That they refused to be eXiled, or
turned upon the highwa to the fate and
fare of tramps, with perishing families be-
hind them 2? Wonderful, indeed, had it
been. had they quietly submitted. like
slaves and towards, to the wrong and out
rage meditated and attempted. But they
didn't. By their influence the valley was
measurably cleared of the imported trash.
The Americans have not been put down
nor driven out, and though they have suf-
fe- ed, they have held the ground and vim
dicated their manhood. And still they
stand firm, demanding only the right and
the just, and resisting with such might as
they may the internal purposes OF incorpor-
ated brigandage. The sympathies of all
healthy mided Americans are with them,
and will remain with them, IN spite OF the
schemes and scOundrelisms OF Syndicates,
and the easy cOmplalSance OF all the apOS-
ate democrats that do now, or may here
after dishOnor the OHIO legislature, and
the constituency that sent them there.
But if there must be legislation directly
touching the labOrers, and we think they
ought to be, let Mr.. Weldy honor the right
and prove his patriotism by introducing
"a Bill to insure justice and fair dealing
with LabOrers." Let q section suppress
Company Stores, such as all the mining
towns Of the Valley are cursed with. Let
another section make it q ielOny;-tO pay
labor with scrip, checks and the like. But
if he can't carry a section suppre sing such
stores, then frame section making it fell
ony to compel laborers employed by any
com pany to buy at their store, or to COM
pei them to pay more for goods &c bought
there than the current market price else
whore for such articles. 1t is true, there
would be "a legal difficulty in cOnvicting n
more difficnlt to punish. But it is quite