The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-17
DIR. DEPEw IS TALK.
He Complimentedt the Bro therhood Highly
Why 1t Succeeds.

!. Ho Complimented tho Bro therhood Hiehl
Why 1t Succeeds.
PrTsBURo, Pa, Got. 16. - Mr.. Depe,
spoke highly of the Brotherhood q
Locomotive Engineers, and said tha
during the period of it's existence and prot
porous growth hundreds of labor organiza
tion had been formed and dissolved. They
had been started to carry out novel the orie
or to put in practice unusual and untried
processes. The success Of your body is due
to it's rigid adherence to the right princi.
pies upon which it was founded. No labo
organization can permanently succee,
whose whole and only object is to increas
wages and diminish hours. It lacks the es
sential bond Of mutual sympathy and
brotherly help in bettering or light
ening each others burdens. Th.
tendency of such organization is evidently
and rapidly to collisions and failure. The
fundamental principle of the brotherhood
is, first, charity in support of the sick OF
injured and contributions to the family Of
the dead; second, education. which perfects
the artisan in the theory and practice of his
trade and broadens him for larger useful
ness as citizen; third, protecting, securing
and maintaining your rights. Your record
is unexampled in the history of contract
between employer and employe, at home OF
abroad, and in the intelligence and pros
perity of your members.
Mr.. .Depew spoke of the all-pervadinQ
idea of the past few years of trusts and said
TINS universal effort to absorb the individu-
al, to divide the people into employing
companies and employees, and to destroy
competition, will inevitably end in disaster.
Hostile legislation and the laws of trade
tn lnrvskS A.
surviving. In the same way, and from the
same causes there have bean several ambi-
tlous attempts to form gigantic labor trusts
which should combine, under one central
ana autocratic authority, every occupation
in which the wage Garner could engage.
In all such associations OF trades
and occupations having nothing in
common. certain qualities OF audacitv.
fuency of speech and capacity for manipu
lating caucuses and conventions, push to
the front many men who know little of the
great interests confided to their care. Labor
must be as intelligent as capital upon its
own grounds. The committee which calls
upon an employer or railroad officer must
know its own business as we'll as he knows
his. otherwise from angry contentious be-
cause OF Ignorance. comes the exercise of
brute force, and violence fails to secure
that which, in nine cases out of ten, could
have been had by intelligent representa-
tiOn.
Hundreds of committees Of our employees
have been to see me, and can safely say
that after the full and free discussion which
always took place. not one of them ever
went out of my Office except to carry back
message to their cone.ituents
The reason for this ready settlements was
that the men understood their own business
and knew how much tho company
could afford to concede. But in the opera
hous Of Whist may call the
labor trusts / have had different |
experiences. Mr.. Depev then cited an |
instance of where fifteen men at ono point |
IN the line were ordered to strike BY tho |
,hief of the local assembly, who was . shoe |
maker and who took that action because he |
)n another occasion high o6icial u an |
rlsr called on me. soon discovered that |
IL know nothing of what he was talking |
bout. The o1icial confessed that he had |
lsvsr bsen IN railway service In his life. |