New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-16
CHEAP LABOR AND BLOODY SHIRTS.

CHEAP LABOR AND BLOODY SHIRTS.
Mr.. Powdery has learned that "Southern
cheap labor is more a menace to the American
toiler than the Chinese, and this labor must be
educltedn That is a startling statement FOL
the leader of the labor organization 10 make,
and it will open the eyes of a great body OF
workers throughout the North. 1t can
scarcely fail to remind them, If they are OF the
reading class, that d citizen of Maine, Mr..
James &. Blaine gave expression to the same
idea in even stronger form a good while ago.
Possibly they were then tempted TO consider it
the device of politician now that 1t comes
from the lips OF their own ablest and most
trusted leader, they cannot refuse to reflect
upon it seriously.
But Southern labor is cheap, Mr.. Powderly,
because it is not free. 1t would be the folly /
the ostrich to put your head into the sand on
purpose not to see that fact. If Southern labor
were defended, as Northern labor u.s. by free
ballot honestly counted and honestly rsurned,
the workingmen of the South could elect
officials of towns, counties ard States who
would see that justice WAS done to labor in
every emergency. But that state of things
does not exist. The ballots of the working
people of the South are not honestly returned !;
they ere not honestly counted; worst OF all
they are not freely cast, for great boIy of
these working people do not dare 10 vote ac-
cording to their convictions. The voice of the
workers does not control the election of local,
county or State officials. Therefore they
cannot rely upon just administration of the
laws for their defence in any controversy
between them and employers capitalists.
rb., inn t,hl ia hat lab ot
the South is not fairly paid. MIR. Powderly
stops short of the truth when he attributes the
fact to IA lack of intelligence. This la or ought
to be educated it is true. But it does not get
paid as much as it already has the intelligence
to ask. That tells the whole story. Many
strikes have occurred within the past year III
tie mines of West Virginia, in the workshops
of Virginia, in the mines and furnaces of Ten
pessee and Alabama, and ID the cotton mills of
Georgia. The laborers know that they mt
and oughC to have moIe wages. More wages
they would get, as Northern laborers do, il
they were as free and as well protected by fan
and honest enforcement of the laws in every
controversy. But at the South the laws are
administered exclusively by wOu!d-be arts
tocratc class. Elections are carried by
fraud 10 order to keep that class in absolute
control. Voters are driven from the polls by
mobs. or deferred by cruel massacrcs from ex-
ercising their rights, and this is done on
purpose to keep That class in power. And
when Northern RepU blicans point to this state
OF things and say that it is infamous and
dangerous 10 the Republic, "A great majority OF
labor agitators have been in the habit of join
ing Democratic demagogues and sneering at
@the bloody shirt 1t is about time that
Northern labor should learn that ii has to pay
a heavy cost whenever there is "bloody
shirt" anywhere in this Republic, Disorder
and lawlessness at tue South make labor cheap