The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-04-03
STRIKERS BAD BREAK.

Eleven men were killed and three times
that number wounded on Thursday morn
ing at Moretown, coke, burning village
near Pittsburg, in the coal region of Penn
sylyania. The killed and the wounded
were strikers who were attacking the
works of a coke company, and the men who
did the shooting formed the sheriff's posse,
guarding the property of the company, and
protecting the non-striking employees. 1t
is presumed that a howl will go up of OPP
preston, and murder will be charged: bat
right-thinking people, awhile they may be
sorry for the rioters and regret the killing,
will say that the sheriff did perfectly right,
and will urge him to continue just that
kind of operations so long as the strikers
continue their unlawful acts. The terror
ism which men in the great coal and iron
districts are exercising is becoming I'M
bearable; heroic measures must be adopted
to check and suppress the evil. The en-
ployer is not safe in person or
property. If he shall close down his works
and let his capital lie idle, a source Of ex-
pense rather than profit, he is denounced as
an enemy to the workingman and his prop
~ 40 AAdDAO W ny d Oh
idlers. If he shall employ men who come to
him for work, he is liable to assault, his
men must be protected by armed officers
and his mills and factories and furnaces
have TO be guarded night and day to pre-
vent their destruction by indignant strik-
ers. Labor has become so intolerant in
that region that it leaves to the capitalist
and employer little voice in the direction of
his own affairs. He must employ only those
designated by the union; he must pay the
wages fixed by the union; he must work
men certain number Of hours; he must
have bosses who are in sympathy
with the men instead Of with him,
and he must do generally what
the laborers, in their united capacity, COM
mand. Failing to comply with all their de-
mands strike is ordered, and if he shall
then seek to replace the outgoing en-
ployees by others he must employ guard
to protect his person and watchmen to pre-
vent the destruction Of his property. The
strikers who were fired upon Oh Thurs
day, day or two before had wrecked the
property of another employer who had
dared to assume to manage his business as
If he were the owner.
1t may seem hard thing to say, but we
believe that the sentiment of the better
element is that if it shall be Necessary to do
little shooting to teach men to respect
the rights of employers, why, let the shoot
ing proceed. Things cannot go on as tney
are going. To permit them to proceed
much farther in that direction would be
disastrous to productive and manufacture.
ing industries generally, and bring on q
reign of terror which would be ter
rible to endure. If capital cannot
be managed in Its active operations by it's
owners, it will not be employed in wage.
paying industries. If the rich man cannot
operate mines, mills and factories as he
deems best, he will not put his money into
those things.
But we believe the law-loving element is
strong enough in every state of the union
TO furnish protection to all classes and all
legitimate interests; strong enough to pro-
tect the laborer from the oppression of cap
ital, and strong enough to protect the cap
italist in his right to do as he pleases with
his own 80 long as he does not do with /,
uplawfully.