The Labor enquirer., 1886-04-24
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
COOPERATION.
The Travail of Our New Social
System May Come Amidst
BIoodshed.
History is Being Repeated-The
Working Glasses Are Be-
coming Educated.

The List Of Names Of the Victims Of
Martial Law at Seattle, Wash
| ington Territory,
Editor Labor Enquirer.
SEATTLE, W. T., April 16.-Ever since
the late exodus of the Chinese fiom this
city, which resulted in the fatal shooting
by our miserable home guards, and the
reign of military despotism following
upon the heels of the shooting, feeling
and bitter utterances have been gradu-
ally subsiding, and now so far as the sur
face of affairs appear, business and the
promising impetus from increased arri-
val of new settlers seem to be absorbing
public attention, although there are
vet remaining few relics of the late
Russian tyranny, in the shape of few
of the government troops, ,,stilthere but
soon to leave, and some of the new large
police force WI ich our city council had
to take as condition of being relieved
of martial law, and mostly made up of
the lackies and worthless hangers-on of
the city political ring-the same dogs
that were set upon our citizens under
martial law, but the council are rapidly
discharging them-they now having
been reduced to one-half, and this no
doubt is owing to some of the vigorous
lashings of our Daily Evening Call, a
paper which from the start has fearlessly
ADVOCATED our cause with telling effect,
ard which has won for itself such sup
port that in SIX months it has been en-
larged three times and now is one of the
leading papers of the city, having grown
in that short time from 12x16 sheet,
The bitter antagonisms engendered by
our late troubles divided our people.
very distinctly, the would-be capitalists,
bankers, brokers and corporation mana
gers and their lackies and hirellngs,
with the professional politicians, taking
one side and calling themselves the
"better class" and the mass of the peo-
pie, making larg| majority, taking the
opposite side. The so-called better class
we're 80 thoroughly frightened that, with
the further purpose of boosting up their
hated home guards, members of whom
80 cowardlY fired upon the crowd and
killed Stewart and wounded three
others, are now getting up a militia
boom. The home guard, which was
simply band of self-constituted deputy
sheriffs gotten up to intimidate our citi-
zens, and made up of politicians, LAWYERS
and the boiled-down essence of pro-
Chinese lovers and haters of the work
ing classes, has been organized into
permanent company, and all those
who consider themselves the young
bIoods, made up of corporation clerks,
lawyers, insurance and real estate agents.
brokers and the like, have joined it,
making company of about seventy-fve
members and they are now almost daily
drilling and target practlclng. A few
more of the same kind joined another
company, known as the rifles. Now we
have the spectacle going on in our city
of the so. o.called young bloods target prac-
ticing, foot racing, and other such sports
on lively scale, whilst the Knights Of
Labor are having very interesting open
meetings of literary exercises, in which
their members and those on the outside
friendly to their cause, are studying and
discussing the grea' questions of the day.
In fact the whole working classes have
become the most diligent students,
eagerly devouring books and papers and
patiently listening to so-called dry dis
cussions upon finance. statistics and
other important questions Involving
great problems now struggling for solu-
ton and which, for want of solution, the
mass of the people are groaning under
oppression and wrong. Still the upstairs,
who style themselves the upper class,
assume to be the intelligent class, and
yet when now and then one of them
happens to attend some Of the discus
sions of the working class, they are sur
pr1sed to find that they have been
awakened to information, and startled
by flood of new light which they have
been forced to confess.
The oft repeated drama of history Is
being performed again. The powerful
class whose ignorance, idlcness and lux
ury are mistaken by themselves as the
standards of intelligence and respecta-
bilitv, in the name of law, loyalty and
patriotism, fortifying their waning power
and drilling not only to stamp harder
upon the people whom they despise be-
cause they have so long wronged, but
preparing to defend their unholy power
from the threatening storm ofindignant
righteousness and the advancing powers
of growing enlightenment and man
hood which will yet overwhelm them,
Notwithstanding their money and inso-
lence.
The travail of our new social condi-
ton which cannot be held back may
come amidst war and great bloodshed,
but the people will not strike the first
bloody blow, except in their own de-
i l..