The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-23
THE LABOR OUTLOOK.

The labor outlook is alarming" 1t gener-
ally is at this season of the year. There is al
ways to be general strike stnext june" but
the next June does not materialize it, and the
great army of laborers goes on in its appointed
way, with strikes here and there, as the in
terests Of the working men seem to demand.
The usual reports Of general strike in the
uncertain future are again in circulation.
Between the professional alarmists and such
as are easily frightened by the gasconade of a
few blowhards that couldn't give their mouth
a rest if they wanted to, a very unhappy pict-
ure has been kept before the American pub
lie. There is nothing in the business
or manufacturing situation to justify
any such gloomy representations. Such
mining troubles as have not been
fixed up are in fair way of adjustment, to the
satisfaction of all concerned. This leaves the
strike of the New York cigar-makers the only
considerable misunderstanding or disagree
ment to be reconciled. The fact that some
10000 men are thrown out of employment
thereby is greatly to be regretted, and the
general hope is that they may soon again find
profitable employment at their old places.
Those in the wrong, the manufacturers or
the employees, as the case may be, should be
quick to discover it and to make fair conces-
sions. A spirit Of fair play should actuate all
concerned, and neither party should fail to
recognize the rights and interests of the other.
If either side approach the other in this spirit,
it. is morally certain to bring about an adjust
ment to the satisfaction of both. It
won't do to jump at the conclusion
that the action Of either is arbitrary
and without show of reason The work of
those upon whom dsvolves the business Of
reconciling the interests of the two parties
to the trouble should be to discover if posi-
ble the atom Of injustice that has caused the
friction and consequent stoppage of the ma
chinery. This done, and the proper and
manly acknowledgment made, and the diff
Guilty is solved, the strike at an end.
But while these few tn ousands-though that
many too many-are out on strike, the
hundreds of thousands in other branches of
industry are at work, and are likely to keep at
work. There will always be a few NAL
contents just as there are in the professions,
who predict direful things to come, and it is
pessimistic cry Of Trouble just ahead" al
ways comes. There hasn't been winter in the
last ten that self-constituted agitators
have not threatened an industrial revolution
"next summer" Such men are always dis
satisfed-they couldn't be happy unless they
were. They are the Mrs. Gummidges of the
industrial world Their more sensible fellows
could get along infinitely better without them;
but since the crop never seems to fail and
they cannot be gotten rid Of, they are char
itably tolerated with as much patience and
forbearance as can be summoned. It is safe
rule to trust the people. Workingmen, like
others, are liable to mistakes. They have
made some in the past and will doubtless
in the reflection that the typical American
workingman is not nihilist, not COM
munist nor unreasonable. The great body of
them have the correct idea Of supply and
demand; they know that employees can do
some things and cannot do others. They
recognize the fact that the man who invests
his money and talents in any enterprise is
entitled to fair return for them-he must be
allowed profit We do not believe that any
real workingman cares to question this. Where
violence has resulted from strikes in the past
it may be found in all, or nearly ALL cases
that it was the work of men who were not
real workers, or who were possessed Of brutal
instincts. This has been the origin of
trouble in every instance. Strikes are valua-
BILE only to enforce just demands. When
these are exceeded strikes will fail every time.
There are certain laws of manufacture and
trade that are immutable. If all the working
men in the world were to strike against them
they could not be altered. And whenever,
through error of judgment, one of these laws
isrun contrary to by dissatisfied employees, that
movement is bound to fail, however formida-
BILE it may be. Increasing intelligence is
making plain these things, and It will be
found, we think, that labor and capital will
work together with better understanding as
the years go by 1t is the duty of organized
labor to discountenance all violence such as is
now threatened in Pennsylvania. The mob
must be put down every time. The people
of this country have the laws in their own
hands. 1t is in their power to make them