Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-07-20
CHICAGO.
SOcalistic Truth in the Aldermanic
ChGmber-Str0ng Resolutions.

thamber-Str0ng Resolutions.
At a public meeting held on Friday,
July II, under the auspices of the Trades
and Labor Assembly, in the chamber of
the City Council, for the purpose of ex-
pressing the sympathy of the Chicago
vorkingmen with the locked out coal
miners in the Northern Illinois districts,
our comrade, 7. }, Morgan, was one of
the speakers. While it is impossible to
give full report of his remarks, the
following extracts will convey a gen
eral idea of their tenor He said:
''As Mr.. Scaife, the president of the
coal miners of Illinois, has himself
stated, the poor coal miners earn seven
ty-one cents day. Every one present
may think how it is possible to support
family upon such wages Oh, we may
be proud to call ourselves free Ameri-
can citizens when our brothers, the
starving coal miners of Braidwood and
Spring Valley, are compelled to eat
horse flesh, in order to save themselves,
their wives, and their little children
from starvation! Just think of it.
You remember that splendid Centennial
celebration in New York, where beastly
persons of the better class drowned
themselves in champagne, while thou
sands of poor women and children were
starving. What magnificent con-
trast Some time ago the coal dealers
Of this city, two hundred and fifty in
number, held picnic in Fishers Park.
The supper of these men cost the little
sum of one thousand dollars, while the
bill for champagne wine was five dollars
for each man. They spent more money
in one night than the poor miners are
able to earn in four weeks. Don't be
astonished that men become excited
when placed into such terrible posi-
ton as the miners are in. King George
said, one hundred years ago: i am your
master by divine right; you must do as
| command But when 1776 came, the
divine right Of King George was all
gone. The people rebelled and they were
successful. These very same rebels are
now honored by the American people.
Their monuments are placed in the
public temples. The time is coming
when, from the bowels of the earth
where the down-trodden miners are
held in wage-slavery, this declaration will
be heard: we protest against the tyr
amy of King Capital because we are
men, and as such, claim the inalienable
right to live. The mines shall hence.
forth be ours. They shall be the prop
ertvof the people, and shall be managed
by the people, for the people, Poverty
will not be abolished until we shall have
done away with the whole competitive
capitalistic system
At the close of his speech, Comrade
Morgan was enthusiastically applauded,
and our capitalistic papers, wild with
excitement, are furiou2'y denouncing
the man who boldly woke the echoes Of
our aldermanic chamber with such
socialistic utterances. The Arbeiter
Zeitung rightly observes that no speech
Of equal force was ever heard before in
the hall of the City Council.
"The Riot in Duluth, Minn.,' was the
subject under discussion at the last
meeting of the Southwest Side Branch
of the Socialist Labor Party Comrade
Ruske was the first speaker; he said in
substance: THE workmen of this re-
public have no right whatever to call
themselves free American citizens
This was demonstrated by the riot
which took place in Duluth last Satur-
day, whereby several wCrkmen were
killed and a great number seriously
wounded. ! don't believe that the po-
lice were first attacked by the strikers;
on the contrary, dare to say that this
riot was the work of agents prOuOcdteurS.
But one need not be astonished that our
present system of society, with its 'glor-
ious' object, exploitation Of the many By
the fe,C, can only be sustained by brutal
force. If the workmen of Duluth had
been more thoroughly organized it
would have been very difficult for
| detectives and spies to provoke
any such trouble. The first step
of the workmen in Duluth and ev-
erywhere is to form a so d organ.
ization. Although a great many trade
unionists profess to be opposed to our
socialistic ideas, nevertheless, | should
be glad to see every wageworker be a
member of his union because, as SO.
Cialists, we know very well that the
time is not distant when even the most
conservative workmen will be compelled
by the natural course of events to rec
ognize the truth of our principles. Is il
not a shame that men so oppressed
should on election day agitate and vote
for their own oppressors! Let every
toiler become a member of his trade
organization. In this way only can b,
become thoroughly acquainted with tbs
object of the labor movement"
The American Section held genera
meeting at Waverly Hall last Wednes
day evening, at which the following
officers were elected: Thomas B. Morgan
organizer; Adelbert Hamilton, record
! inp SECRETARY. C. Z Heer, financial sec