The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-09-02
LEGTVRHR INQUIRE
Delivers an interesting Talk at
Trades Assembly Hall,
TO WAGE FARMERS
Listened to With Attention-sOme Of
His Noteworthy Utterances-sat-
urday's Big Labor Demonstra-
ton a brilliant Success,

uFday's Big Labor Demonstra-
ton a brilliant Success,
Mr., Thomas B. Mcclure, Of the Gen.
aral Executive Board, K, Of L., and
general lecturer Of the order, delivered
quite an interesting address at Trades
Assembly hall last night, Hetalked from
a few minutes past eight O'Clock till after
ten, and in all that time only one man
left the room,
The meeting was opened by Richard
Robertson who proposed ], H, Burt fol
chairman. Mr., Burt introduced Mr.,
Mcclure, Mr., Mcclure opened his adj
dress by an allusion to the fact that the
history Of the world is simply a history
Of progress, "a history Of the putting. to
rout OF the conservatives who say all IL
right and tue way God intended Tito
be,n He followed man from the nomad.
ic age through the various phases Of
change up 10 the present commercial
age. He illustrated the natural selfish
ness Of man by several very appropriate
anecdotes, and proved that mans savage
nature taught him TO keep all for sell
and not divide so that not he alone bull
his fellow man may live.
He claimed that the present condition
OF man Is not right, and one kind o.
slavery Is as bad as another, "a wage
system that makes man aslaye is but one
remove from sertdom. Slavery drst
existed when the father claimed the
right to kill his sons and daughters, and
still continues In other forms, The
Spartans were slaves, and Voltaire even
attributes only half mind 10 the slave,
1.-THE a~ristocraCy oil labor ahould be
broken down. One laborer Ia as good
us another. One slave feels proud be-
cause his master has a hundred slaves,
where another master has but q hall
dozen. Even In the labor unions We all
want to be bosses We want 10 be con
tractors and want TO live of the labor OIL
others. We discharge the men and hire
boys, and discharge the boys and hire
girls, and all this only to get the same
work done cheaper.
"When Spartlcus drew his followers
about him to revolt against the tyrany
OF the Romans, did lie promise to free al
the alaves2 No sir, he simply wanted
to change the relative positions Of him,
self and the Roman a%ristocraCy, He
wanted to DO tho tyrant and he wanted
them for slaves. He had no thought Of
changing the condition OF mankind,
only his own condition was to be
changed"
1--WE are not free men. II we were
free, we would have industrial and not
political republics, with every man pro-
for himself and not giving bis
products to ia non.creating class, The
men In the workshops are working
against their fellows. They are moi
for excellence but for de.
struCtion, They say put US on piece
work and l will do fifty cents worth
more work in a day than my neighbor.
Not that he Is better able TO do It but To
prove to the boss that he eau do 1t. II
you see me on the railroad track you will
risk your life to save mine, but put US
In q shop and you will overwork your.
self to prove that / anu worthless, and
to have me discharged so that l may die
from inability to earn q living"
Continuing he said: "The wage sys.
6hIy one remove from Cfattel slav-
ery,and you will never be able 10 change
the present industrial system 30 long as
you look TO the wage system for relief.
There are three insurmountable diff
in the way, rent, interest and
We can NO. see that our breth-
rem are hurt by these conditions, and
we imagine that only ourselves are SUI.
We must revolt against the priv.
given by legislation to combina-
tons. You vote TO put the chains
about your neckS, when you have 1t in
your power to put them of.
These conditions are all wrong, and l
can prove 1t, Any system Is wrong
one man must pay another for
the privilege Of living. The Indian first
sold the land for beads, and considered
the beads clear profit, because the land
was here when lie came, and cost him
nothing. This same idea exists to-day,
but In a slightly different form. In this
Of giving away lhe lands to cor.
porations the Democrats are rascals and
The Republicans are very apt scholars.
A few years ago Charles Francis Adams
was appointed by tue Government to &c.
cure for the, public the lands given
10 the Northern Pacific Railroad, and
the interest due from that company for
advanced by the Government.
In two years Mr.. Adams was president
Of the road, and was asking Congress for
more privileges for the road. Power
does oil these things, and that power Is
given by you with your votes,
"In the matter OF correcting these
evils, there are many different theories
advanced, none Of which / am prepared
10 condemn or entirely commend. The
Tax theory Ia q step In the right
because 1t preclndes the posi-.
bility Of specializing In that which God
intended for vs. all In equity. No man
has the right 10 obtain tie value created
by another unless he gives full value for
II In some line. Suppose everyone were
rich; you will say no one.would work.
| say every man would work. Let US
all exchange our products and we will
all be happy.
Suppose one man had all the money.
He could own oil the land, and with II
all the people, for they cannot be indie.
pendent unless they have the landthey
need to live upon"
In speaking OF combinations, he said:
Combinations are doing more to open
the eyes Of w%orkingmen than all other
agencies. They are proving that one
salesman can do the work Of tep, one
bookkeeper the work Of twenty, and one
boss the work OF dozens. They are
teaching Us how to drive outthe droneB,
aud are proving 10 us what cooperation
can do. Wotkingmen are, however, too
much inclined 70 sing Come day, 20
day, God send suAdayI and not think
what issurrounding them and how they
can leave the world better than they
W.
He made an earnest appeal In favor Of
the union labels on all goods bought by
union men, aud proposed that houses
bear placards annolnolngthat they were
built by union workmen.
To illustrate the difference organize.
ton makesin the conditions OF men, he
cited the fact that machinists In New.
York are working for $l7S O day while