Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-08-19
LABOR TROUBLES.

system; it is question which recurs
more often than any other, and al
though at times it presents itself IN
a new form, there are still attaching to
it the same old difficulties. Trades un-
ions have much ameliorated the condi-
ton of the working classes, but they have
grown to such proportions and have be-
come 50 powerful that they have changed
their character of protector to that OF
dictator; they have become a danger to
the State and menace to the working
classes. They issue their orders as su-
preme mandates and what is more, they
enforce obedience TO them. Protective
labor associations are totally different
from what they were originally, and to-
day they are very much tinged with the
the theories of Socialists and Anarchists;
in fact it is almost an impossibility for
any considerable number of workmen to
assemble TO consider and protest their
grievances without degenerating into q
political meeting of the anarchist type.
Labor troubles in Denver have developed
the presence Of Dynamiters in that place,
not merely theoratical Dynamiters who
make long harangues, but practical ones
who place dynamite upon the railroad
track to destroy not merely the property
of railroad companies, but to destroy the
lives of the travelling public. Such things
are growing instead OF decreasing. Only
so lately as the llth inst. there was
an immense meeting in Cleveland,
Ohio, of Dynamiters, Socialists, and all
that class Of persons who may be desig-
mated as the organized enemies of organ
lied society. At this meeting there was
a transparency bearing this revolution
airy motto: "Under the stars and stripes
We starve; under the red flag we live"
This meeting was held in the oratorium
of Monum entail Park, the occasion being
to express sympathy tor William ! Cor
such, leading Dyndmjter OF Cleveland,
on his release from jail The first speaker
was August Spies, the editor of German
Socialist paper, published in Chicago.
The following extracts from Spies speech
will plainly indicate the nature of it:
"You know that in this city there are
such vampires as you will find every
where; individuals who devour the work
ingmen, beasts who suck the blood OF the
toilers, who have no conscience and who
openly declare that men are cattle
- 4 1t is a notorious fact that the
wage workers are being robbed and that
the capital accumulating in the palaces
on your avenues, in the banks, ware
houses and stores is unpaid labor and
therefore bold robbery, and those who
hold it will never think of delivering il
to you unless you take it by force. Is
not that robbery? Ii you have a differ
ent definition of the word you may name
it; have none"
At this point Spies was interrupted by
the arrival OF a procession composed o
some hundreds of strikers, headed by
Gorsuch. Mrs. Gorsuch was carrying the
red flag OF the Commune, and another
woman bore the stars and stripes. The
following extracts from his speech will
suffice to show its nature The first ex.
tract is a repetition OF his Newberg speech
for which he was placed in Jail:
"In the days OF the revolution,it would
have been no crime to hang King George
and according to the same theory il
would not be wrong to catch the Wander
bilts, the Goulds, the Chisholms and
hang them They tell ME l advised the
people to use the sword and guns. Lei
me ask you which is better, to have 8
bayonet or minnie bah through youl
heart, use dynamite or starye? l would
prefer the other, because it hurts more tC
starve to death than to be blown up by {
little thing about the size OF an orange.
Y
More than eighteen hundred years age
Christ advised the people to be free, tc
be anarchists and communists; for that
they nailed him to the cross. Here in this
city they took an exponent of anarchism
and tried to nail him to the cross; but
friends stepped in-friends whom had
never met before-they came to my res
cue, furnished me with legal talent, thai
prevented the trinity of rent profit anc
interest to nail me to the cross, and wher
the trinity is sent down to everlasting
hell see that it is never again resurrect
ed"
He ended his speech with this advice
"Join the wo kingmen's union anc
fifty of us anarchists can tell the down
trodden workingmen to 20 to their homes
save themselves from the clubs, from thC
Winchester rifles, from the Gatling gun
and these fifty men can see what efficacy
there is in the little thing about the size
of an orange"
When he had finished, Spies arose
again and gave the assembled multitude
this advice: Instead OF spending YOU
little 5-ceut pieces for b5er, y
save them until you have gathered suffi
cient to arm yourselves against your op
pressors. Buy rifles, and if you canno
afford to lay out $25 for gun, save up ,;
cents for dynamite.
During the course oi his speech, Cor
such spoke and argued against trades
unionism, saying that any man who does
not, because he cannot, pay his dues reg
ularly sis put down as a scab." anC
fought harder than the capitalists. The
present trouble on the Wabash system
will likely develop some such meetings
"a the one at Cleveland, and the follow