Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-04-30

ency involved in the wide spread contest
between, labor and capital now in such ac-
tive progress, are not many, nor very intri-
cate. The employer, be he individual or
corporation, has no moral right to use the
power which money gives him or it, to
Cypress his fellow man, or to grind the
faces of the poor. EXtortion is II moral II
not legal crime. On the other hand
every man has perfect right, within the
limits of the moral and statute law, to
manage his own business, in his own way.
The employed has perfect right, if he
can do so without violating Il contract,
to decline to WORK, for any reason that
seems good to HIM. He has right to or
game, with others, in societies and unions
for mutual advantage and protection
against eXtortion. He has a right to use
his powers of persuasion, with his fellows,
to induce them to join him in refusing to
work forswhat he deems insufficient pay.
He has no right to prevent by force or
threats any other man from working for
such wages as the latter is willing towork
for or TO compel any man who is out OF
employ to remain idle. lie has no
right to destroy another mans prop
erty. He has no right to make his or
ganizatlOn or union means of depressing
either his employer or his fellow working
man. He has no right to enter II con-
spiracy to destroy the lawful business of
any man or woman. AS to matters of eX-
pediency it is always wise for capital to
deal literally by labor, and for the EN-
poyer to regard the welfare of his men rs
well rs the profit he can make from their
Iul tp u1n ba nj nf
and let live. The workingman on his
part, will be wise not to quarrel with his
bread and butter; not to quit work in
which he is getting fair wages, till he sees
clearly how he is to better himself by
striking; not to part with his individual
freedom, to any MASTER nor to any master
workman or executive committee, and to
be careful how he permits himself individ-
ually or through his trades union, to
interfere with the principle that every
man has a right to be the manager of
his own business. The labor troubles
come from the violation of these plain
principles and precepts, and the blame for
the present very serious condition of at
fairs in this country most clearly rests
more on the labor organizations than on
the employers Grand Master powderly
indeed takes pains to explain that the or
ganizatiOn OF knights of Labor aims to
sustain law and order, and to settle differ
ences by arbitration. He has declared
that the strike should be only
the last resort for the redress of any
grievance and that his organization
discountenances all violence or destruc
ton of property. But his utterances, in
of ha l,,t 1.,ilt air
ing, only show of how little consequence
he is in the order of which he is the
nominal head. Hundreds of strikes are
now in progress ordered by the district SUI
perintendents and committees, in various
States, who evidently care nothing for
Mr.. Powderly nor for the principles he
enunciates. Many of these subordinate
officers Of the organization are dangerous
men, reckless, inflated by the sudden au-
thority which has come to them and
willing to eXalt their own consequence by
arbitrary and outrageous exercise of their
power. One of the committee that is re
sponsible for the prolonged railroad strike
in the Southwest, which has brought only
heavy loss of life, of time, and of money
with no good result to any man, Is man
who but year or two ago was an EN-
ployer, and ran away after swindling his
.workmen and defrauding his creditors.
Men of this stamp have ordered sweep
ing strikes on roads where there We're
no differences between the ha nds and
the corporations. In New York city on
Monday, such a committee, because IA sin
gle street railroad would not discharge
some of it's employees who did not belong
m hn tift, Il al
most every car line in the city They
thus deprived 5000 men of a days wages,
causing them a total loss in money OF
more than $4,000, and they accomplished
nothing except to thus injure their own
men, and to gain the general con
demnation of the community. The
wonder is that American working
men submit to these absolutely des
potic orders of their committees AnC
they will not do it, much longer, if thing.
20 on as they are going. These sweeping
strikes, involving alike liberal and grasp
ing, contented and discontinued, we'll anC
ill-paid, are bound to bring reaction
They can be justified on no ground eXcep
that might makes right. If the organiZa
ton of Knights of Labor is responsible TO
them, that organization will go down.
there is no government and no courts tina
can protect the community against them
citizens who are not ready to welcom
anarchy and mob law will organize TO
their own protection. They are alread
doing so at the West.
The President and the Tariff Bill.
President Cleveland is reported to be s
strongly in favor of the Morrison tart
bill that he has announced his intention {
throwing all the influence of the eXecutiy
to secure the passage of the bill. Why h
should be so anxious for the success {
this foolish and defective measure we cal
not comprehend. 1t seems, however, t
be the critical measure upon which NJ
Cleveland proposes to test the fealty
the party to himself. Mr.. Hewitt is gi'
ing out that the president will look upo
all Democrats in the House who vote fC
the bill AS "his particular friends. ~ Whicl