Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-28
THEY HAVE GONE roo FAR.
The Point to Which knights of Labor
VIII be Sustained by Public Opinion.


The Point to Which knights of Labor
viii be Sustained by Public Opinion.
Editor Morning Netos: Nearly a CEN
fury ago the duties imposed by the Eng
llsh government upon certain productions
OF the continent were so excessive that
smuggling came to be looked upon, ii not
legitimate, at least as very pardonable,
and as not attendant with any loss OF
character or Of reputation. The question
OF t1e English lady shopping in Paris was
not " What is the price of this laceY' but
"What will you charge to leave this at
my residence at No. - BelgraviaW and
for comparatively small advance the
fair shopper would hardly be comfortable
at home ere her purchase Of point d Alien
con or Nalenciennes would be left at her
door. The result of the excessive duties
was not any Increase of English revenue,
but the building OF aflOtilla Of fast-saillng
luggers, the fostering of the art OF snug
Cling, and perhaps the education OF few
good sailors for the navy.
| mention this, simply to,illustTate the
fact that any law or system pushed to an
excess Will result in its own defeat. This
is precisely what is occurring with the
Knights of Labor and the strikers; they
are carrying their methods too far; there
lie sympathy will cease and conservatism
will ''call halt" Every worklngman, if
dissatisfied with his wages, has an unques-
tionable right to cease working, and he
has also right, if be VIII keep without
the law against conspiracies to do injury
to others, to endeavOr to persuade his
friends to share his views and TO stop
work also; but it must be moral suasion;
he must exercise the SudUiteT IN mOdO,
h, p, qo 10 hoc tnOhapia.
BILE right to say"I will not work for Jay
Gould, at dollar day, and to carry
such assertion into effect, but he
has no right to say "because l am dissat-
listed with Gould and will not work for
him, neither you nor any one else SHALL"
and then proceed to collar and beat any
other man who, anxious with the care Of
a family, is willing TO take the wages, In
sufficient though they may be. He has
right to join labor unions and associations
and persuade his friends to do so also, and
to submit to the laws and rules OF such
associations, but he has no right to order
others to employ none but his fellow
members and TO fine and boycott
those who choose to conduct their
business their own way. When they
do this they touch that point where
they defeat their own wishes and inten-
tiOns. This was illustrated in the case of
Mrs. Gray, baker, or bakeress, IN New
York. The Sir Knights ordered her to
discharge her non-nmon employees and to
employ none but union men, and they I'M
dertOok mild form of robbery by order
ing her to pay fine p Of $50, and on
her refusal to pay this Unauthorized levy
they proceeded to boycott her. interfere
with her business, and otherwise annoy
her, They had no right to fine her, as she
did not belong to any OF their societies,
and to extort $25 from her by boycotting
and other annoyance was neither more
nor less than robbery. There are more
forms of this crime than the time-hOnOred
"stand and deliver" or ''yOur money or
your life" and an illegal demand for
money, enforced bvthreats or annOyances,
is one of the forms.
But it was an unlucky move on The part
OF the noble Sir knights. Mrs. Gray was
a woman. and, like all wOmen, she had "a
will Of her own" and would have her
own way. "When she will. she will; and
when she won't, she won't" has long
been their axiom, and this they carry into
effect, even when the law is against them.
What then are they not capable of, when,
as in Mrs. Gray's case, the law is with
them? Mrs. G. is very plucky little ba-
ker woman; so she nailed her cOlors to
the mast and swore she would be baked
In her own oven, ere she would yield TO
such outrageous demands. Still worse
for the Knights, the people of New York
sided with her, and the sole effect Of
the boycott was to increase Mrs. CPS
business beyond her most sanguine hopes.
The knights had reached the point where
their action recOiled against themselves,
and what they proposed to he a punish
ment for their refractory opponent, be-
came benefit to her. The conservative
classes became alarmed at this display Of
unlawful action on the part of the labor
unions. The Knights had pushed their
methods to an excess, and the result was
the same as it always has been and al
ways must be in such cases.
The most deplOrable result OF these
strikes and boycotts viii! be centraliza-
ton. A persistence in them will newt
ably lead the conservative masses of the
country to place more power in the hands
of the government. and this is to be depre-
Gated, as ii is the first step towards the
downfall of republics. l..
II you want to inspect pretty line of new
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