The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-04-23
Gks ~GRtslIigsncen
wAIELlNe, W. VA, APHII aa, 1885,



The Law Ctthp Land supreme
Mr.. Powderly, in his testimony before
the special committee Of the House el
Representatives, said;
The aim Of the organization OF the
Knights Of Labor is to benefit the laD9!er
.nd 10 secure a better feeling between MN
"%J Ma employer. All our methods are
,aacsinL We never counsel anything o.
violent nature. Amember otthe orEanl
S,tion NAV. once in while, commit acts
~ violence. We cannot help that. u 10
matter beyond our control.
Onr object is To protect not only the
labor Of the country, but to protect inc
,nsnuiaciurers ~ we'll. We deslrs that
,hs manufacturer shall be in such q con,
Sition that they will be able to pay, good
wages. We have no quarrel WIN NRat,
mate enterprise, II you dlac9Yer InaI
members OF tbs knignta o. tADof ssohE
lie railroads have violated me laws o. w
land. or its own laws (and the c0mIllI'ee
will discover that iact), We VIII 10 As
ready 10 assist in Furnishing them Oh VIZ
aTe In unfolding their righls,
hslisye thsg tho law oil the lana 10
HIGHER than any organization, and that
wi1an n man violates the law OF tho lana,
sither asa private Cluzen, or IS a member
NJ a CORPORATION, liz should DO punished
Tor r. and that his connection with a. Of
vaniTation should be ut shield Tor MN
and have thought, OF the other hahu
tLat the man who violates the law ana
VIM Ia worth millions Of dollars sllOuIu
-. A.. A., an,un al the moor MNls
Mr.. Powderly may be supposed TO
understand thoroughly the principles OF
his order and tho methods which II ap-
uroyeB. Before the committee aud else
where he deprecates violence and declares
that his order will not stand between
yiolators OF the law and their proper pun
ishment according to law. Yet while he
spcaks strikers, members Of the order and
supported by the order, are disturbing the
peace, uncoupling cars, side-tracklng cats'
'killlug" locomotives, beating men VINO
are operating the lines, and otherwise IN,
terisrlug violently with personal and
public rights. L.,
These ought not 10 be matters beyond
the control Of an order which exaCts obe'
dieuce from It's membership, which exer'
cises a ralernal care over the personal in-
terests Of It's membels, and has shown the
newer to bring to stNndstill for a time
any railroad on which 1t may lay It's hsndH'
The mower Of this vast organization brings
with II certain duiiesto itself and % socle'
", Of which 1t has become an important
and growing factor.
The right to organize and sot in motion
this great iorco places upon the oTgani1a'
ton. lis leaders and their following, the
responsibility Of control and proper dIrec-
tton. 1.-THE organization cannot restrain
It's membership from violence and other
unlawful acte, it must suffer in the good
opinion Of the country, and 1t will suffer
in the opinion Of thousands who wish the
order well. There ia also the individual
responsibility Of the membership, and for
this each man must answer to the law he
breaks.
Mr.. Powderly is entirely right, and
speaks as an American citizen ought to
speak, when he says "the law OF the land
Is higher than any organization" and
that the violators OF law, DO they who
they may, should be punished. lie is
equally right when he says that the rich
y~lolator Of the law should be punished as
we'll as the poor man who breaks the law
II we admit that Jay Gould breaks the
law every day Of his life, that does not
make It right for other men 10 follow his
bad example.
Perhaps we shall find a way to reach
Mr.. Gould and the other experts In water
ing stock and wrecking railroads. But
there Is already o way TO reach men who
do what is being done on the Western
railroads, and the public welfare demands
that tho law shall be enforced. Better
than that, that these violations Of law
shall be prevented by all the force Of the
law.
Society would go to pieces II there we're
no way to prevent such scenes as have
been witnessed in the past few weeks.
The ~workingman is the last who has any.
thing to gain by o state Of anarchy, and
this has been the practical condition Of
things on the railroads involved in the
strike.