The Labor enquirer., 1886-09-25
Any System Requiring Force to
Sustain Itself is Already
Judged in Advance.
"Sire, 1t Is Revolution" Repeats
the Intelligent Man of
This Century.
The Deception of "Patriotisn11'-NOw
the Gray and Blue Meet and
Cut Their Coupons.

The struggle between the representa-
tives of capital and labor is world wide
All along the lines the din of strife is
heard. In France, DecazeyiIle and St
Quentin echo with the tread of strikers
and troops. In Spain the workmen OF
Madrid faunt their rags and demand
employment, while their comrades of
the rural districts, goaded to despera-
ton, set fire to barns. Even Portugal
awakens from its lethargV to witness
the strange spectacle of imposing mani
festations at various points against taxa
: tion, and at Oporto the workmen raised
the ominous cry of Long live the Re-
publicp p In Italy the peasants of the
mountain districts are taking the admin
istration of justice into their own hands
and rendering the lives of the gentry in,
secure. In Russia new conspiracies are
unearthed and new victims resigne dly
meet their fate. In Turkey, apparently
buried in Asiatic lethargY, the street
sweepers of Constantinople astound the
sleepy authorities by striking for their
paw. In Germany the gorv spectre of
Revolution is ever present before the
statesman's mind. In England, the land
of routine and common place, the great
strikes in the north and the recent So
ciallstiC mob in London makes even the
optlmist to pause.
In America, striG es and disorders form
the current news of the day; from the
Atlantic to the Pacific the air seems
charged with an exhilarating ingredient
which inspires mems thoughts with new
purposes. Dav bv day the lines are be
ing drawn closer and closer. :, Capital,
alarmed, seeks to deny to labor the
right of organization. Labor, feeling the
strength of partial orkanization, taxes
'on a new and independent tone. As
passions are excited and temper aroused,
wisdom too often is unheard while ig-
norance cryeth aloud Compare the
public feeling today with that of ten
yeare' ago, before the Pittsburg riot
startled the country from Its dream of
centennial grandeur and peace We seem
to have passed into a new age. These
signs are but sporadic manifestations Of
the growing discomfort. AS IN all pre-
Revolutionary DAYS they are indications
of a coming struggle, and vet men talk
of an equitable adjustment of the
strained relations between capital and
labor through the use Of force. Any
system requiring force to sustain itself,
is already judged in advance.
In the opening years Of the French
Revolution all statesmen were seeking
an equitable adjustment between au-
thority and liberty, striving to attain a
happy twilight medium 'etween light
and darkness which would yet give sat
isfaction to each. None sought repub-
lie, vet almost before the ink on the ad-
iusting protocol was drv, the republic
was proclaimed. The logic of events a.
ways leads men; the process is never
the reverse. In 1775 the colonist3 sought
an EQUITABLE adjustment of their differ
ences with the crown. The boycott on
Tea was deemed an extreme step. Then
came the Boston massacre, and as the
smoke rolled away over the land lnde-
pendence was born. Again in 1861,
thoughtful men were seeking new
compromise between antagonistlc prln
clpIes in order to preserve the Union. A
shot was fred at the flag on Fort Sumter
and the north became solid.
We are passing through similar scenes
The demands of the future are arrayed
AGAINST the entrenched customs OF the
past, We are growing into a state
where the arrogance ofthose who stand
by the past and would repeI progress, or
the ignorance of those who while uncon-
sciously representing the future are vet
human in their passions, may preclpl-
tate a conflict which will stain the pages
Of the history of this century with the
blood of slaughtered victims. AS mas
been we'll said, compromises are lnclpl-
ent suicides. 1t behooves US to under
stand the fundamental principles In
volyed in the conflict, for the contendlng
forces in the seethlng crucible OF social
life are beyond mems control. What
will he the outcome it we're rash to say
but in what direction all the tendencies
of nroqress lead is not q matter OF proph'
, ecy.
Let Us make the subject a personal
one You work for wages. Are they
increasing? Is your position a guaran'
teed one, or is it dependent upon uncer'
tain conditions and huctuating mar
ket? Are YOU to-day satisfied, or arr
YOU striving for something better? II
short, it is a personal question. A very
few wears ago such questions Woulo
have been idle; to-day they ind recep'
tive ears. Is there not in this fact
pregnant meaning? Do you not reallE'
that times have changed since our CIVIL
wa1, if your memory goes back beyond
that event? You are mechanic
Have you the opportunities now thai
there were then for the man OF small