The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-12-30
ARE STRIKES JUSTIFIED :?
General Organizer Moulton Ad-
dresses the Liberal Fraternity
on the Subject.

Mr.. ii. c. Moulton, the general organizer
Of the Boot and Shoe Workers International
Union, addressed the Liberal Fraternity in
Mystic Hall yesterday. His subject was
"Are Strikes Justifable?" Mr.. MoultOn
spoke substantially as follows:
Suppose that l, working for an employer
try TO better my condition. and ask for more
pay, and after repeated failures to get what
/ want leave, that Is strike, and no man
will question my right to leave; 1t Is my in
dicridual act. Now suppose that am one Of
one him. ared men employed in shoe shop.
we want con, titions changed, or more pay,
and we send cSSi52mittee to represent us. In
a conference with the pf0rppTIetor. NOW that
committee represents the ideas OF afrvnSse ION On .
hundred, and If it Is right for me to leave as
an individual, then 1t Is right for me to leave
as one of one hundred. 1t Is our right to
leave our situations when we see fit, and we
propose to exercise that right.
But you say "is 1t right to leave the EN-
pl0y of man when the act must be an in
terruption to his businessY' There are two
sides to that QUESTION. Suppose when we
go to our employer he in his dignifed way
says II will run my own business" what
thenP We have business OF our own. All
we have to sell Is our labor, and IL we ac-
cord to our employer the right to run his
business, we must run ours.
O0dUB6S BOOu OF Ddu cOLne SLOWLY, DuL
surely. l passed through the great coal
fields of Pennsylvania, and saw in all their
degredation-a degradation not to be de-
scribed-the men who were imported to take
the place of American citizens. That change
came slowly, but it came surely, the small
reduction before the greater. Yet there are
men in those coal fields who are trying to
better the condition of the laborers, and
they will go on with their work even II many
OF their comrades are, behind prison bars.
And law is invoked in order that these
slow but sure changes so destructive to the
interests of laboring men may be made. 1t
is burning disgrace to the State of Maine
that the sO-called intimidation act was
passed by the last legislature. III In the
minds Of all the judges Of your Supreme
Court, there had been the same construction
of that law as there was In the minds Of
some members of that court l myself might
have been arrested for going as did 60 10 a
Maine employer, and trying as | did try to
bring about settlement OF labor trouble.
1t should never have been passed.
A strike Is an assertion Of power, and a
suggestion of reserved force. II an en-
plcyer yields at all, he does IL because there
Is back of your demand an assertion Of ex-
isting force.
BuI why do men strike? Why loose money
and valuable time? Are they led by wild
agitators who are intent on making a good
living for themselves? 1t should be remem-
bered that men who strike know their own
business best.
Mr.. Moulton then referred to the Freeport
strike, and contended that the strikers were
claiming only what was right and fair. and
proceeded as follows:
No union ever did, or ever will, claim that
an employer must or should keep In his en-
ploy an unfaithful man or drunkard; but
we can and do refuse to work with ''scabs,
and we claim the right to say with whom we
will not associate. There are 200 men in
shoe factory, and man comes and asks for
job. The employer says, "ShOw me that
you can make SHOE" The man Is given a
chance at a machine, and proves to be a
Is wanted in the shop, but the 200 old hands
know that he is "scab." That when their
brother shoemakers struck for better pay, or
better conditions, he worked against them,
and they say, "We won't work with him."
Would the manufacturer be wise IL he pre-
ferred the one man to the 200? No manu-
facturer ever beat labor organization, but
scabs have done it,and we will not work with
them.
But manufacturers say Don't join the
union; act as individuals" John Brown
fought the South as an individual, and you
know the result; an organized North made
the slave a free man, made free by force.
No individual protest against a cut-down
would be Needed
They demand "free Shops" Batchelder
of Worcester tried to run that sort Of shop
and gave to the fire Of his furnaces 90 cases
Of shoes he didn't want to send outside his
factory Richmond concluded months ago
that 1t didn't want "free shop" but Ran
dolph did, and in less than a month the pro-
prietor made reduction, and this was what
he said to his men: "YOu must do as say,
for you can't get work 10 Union
shop" Two months after he made a second
reduction, and Christmas day he made them
present Of still another cut down. And
hn f0r hn faA
women and children had been less than S3
week.
We don't want to strike, but we do mean
to keep wages at fair figure. III nine man
ufacturers are favorable to the demands Of
labor, and propose to deal justly by their
men, and one other manufacturer cuts down
his men, the rest must do the same. We in
the interest of all, say to the one, you
must do what is fair and right" 1t Is better
for us that he go out Of business. We work
business of such man. hold, and we all
hold, the existence of one shop is of little
moment compared with this point so vital to
us all.
A reduction of wages means to any place
50 much taken out Of its purchasing power,
and that makes dull business.
But II the rightfulneSS of strikes is admit
ted, IL Is said, "But you use the boycott"
Suppose we do, what is IL? We simply ask
our friends not to buy the goods Of cur
enemies. That is all there is to boycott.
Were we to make that request Of the people
of Maine | believe 1t would be granted. And
while reluctant to strike, when we must do
it we are in for fight every time That Is
what we are in existence for.
Rev. j. B. White followed Mr.. Moulton.
He said a man who is an extensive manufac-
turer of shoes, told him that the reduction
made by Nj. Shaw was not necessary, and
that there was no apparent difference in
quality between the reduced grades and the
others made by A. w. Shaw & Co.
Mark Courant. president Of the Central
Labor Union, John M. Todd and others
made vigorous speeches.
A second meeting was held in the otter
| noon, when Mr.. Moulton delivered an ad-
DRESS