The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-05-01
A WAR OF GIANTS.

The Capitalists and Corporations Organ
lied For "A stubborn Fight With Organ
. lied Labor in General and the Knights OF
Labor In Particular--Jay Gould Said to
BE the Leading Spirit.
NEW YORK, April 25.-Just as tho
troubles between the Northern ana
Southern States led year by year through
a number of decades to the struggle OF
twenty-five years ago, so have the differ
ences between capital and labor been
gradually approaching the final struggle.
1t has been said of late that strikes all
over the country are indicative that the
period is ut hand when the millionaire
and corporations on one side and the
Workingmen on the other side must come
to satisfactory and final understanding
which is to be the supremacy OF the one
or the other The strikers in a majority
of instances have met with success in
times past simply because they were Or
ganlzed, but recent information indicates
that the mllionaiges and corporations
have also organized.
1t is learned that from the day last sum
mer when Mr.. Gould was forced to bow
the knee to the Knights and grant their
demands for an adjustment OF grievances
on the Wabash system, that capitalists
and large corporations, seeing the hand
writing on the wall, have been preparing
for final struggle. Practically speaking,
great union of the moneyed interests
has been in course of formation for many
months. At first the surface railroad cor
7 e mfr hplnnn
| the union, and they were forced to grant
the demands of their men in january.
Since then it can be positively stated that
the presidents Of the roads have joined
the big union, subscribed anywhere from
81 900, 900 and upward, and are now pre-
pared to give battle to the Knights. When
Mr.. Hoxie turned his backup the menu
bers of the general executive committee
of the Knights of Labor, he knew that all
the roads leading into East st. Louis had
subscribed $3.50, 900 as fund to defeat
the strikers; he knew that all the other
roads of the country had subscribed, or
were willing to subscribe, hundreds, OF
thousands to crush the Knights of Labor
and the labor unions of the country.
The last to come into the big union are
the sugar-rehners of Brooklyn They
also have subscribed to the big fund and
are prepared to fight to the bitter end
They are even more defiant than Mr.
'HOxie They refuse absolutely to take
the strikers back at any thing like theii
former wages. They will shut down en-
tirely, they say, knowing full well that AZ
the Knights of Labor have reserve funC
from which to draw support, they alsC
have a fund running up into the millions
from which to draw sustenance. Ger
tain president of one of the trunk lines
said to-day that this company stood read!
to subscribe 100000 to the big fund a
the first indication of trouble from it
employees. Whether Mr.. Gould is tn
general master workman of the Knight
of Capital can not be learned, but such i
the report. This big fund has enabled
the corporations to scour the country 70
non-union men, and it can be stated posi-
lively that in the event OF a general tie-u
of the railroads in this or any of the othe
J larger cities, there are men who stan
ready to take the places of the strikers.