The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-07-23
THE STRIKERS CASE
Statement to the Public by the
Advisory COMMITTEES
THE CAUSE OF AMERICAN LIBERTY.

The Committee Believes That They
Have Equitable Rights and Inter-
ests In the Homestead Mills That
Cannot be Diverted without Due
Process of Law.
HOMESTEAD, Pa, July e3.-The ad-
visory committee on the Homestead
lockout has prepared the following state
ment.
1.-THE most evident characteristic of
our time and country is the phenomenon
of industrial Capitalization which is
putting the control OF each of our great
industries into the hands of one or a
few men and giving these men an
enormous and despotic power over the
lives and the fortunes of their employees
and subordinates, the great mass of the
people; power which eviscerates our
national constitution and our common
law and directly antagonizes the spirit
of universal history in its world wide
struggle after lawful liberty; power
which, though expressed in terms of
current speech as the right of employ
themselves, is coming to mean in effect
nothing less than the right to manage
the country to suit themselves.
Built the Town of Homestead.
"The employees in the mill of Messrs.
Carnegie. Phipps 81 Co., at Homestead,
have built there town, with Its homes,
its schools and its churches; have for
many years been faithful co-workers
with the company in the business of the
mills; have invested thousands of dollars
of their savings in the said mill in the
expectation of spending their lives in
Homestead and of working in the mill
during the period of their efficiency.
In addition to the ordinary gifts and
advantages of our government, the ma
tional legislature has seen fit to specially
foster and protect, by public taxation,
the industry of their mills, and the state
of Pennsylvania is today guarding it at
great and extraordinary expense.
Against American Liberty.
"Therefore the committee desires to
express to the public as its firm belief
that both the public and the employees
aforesaid have equitable rights and in
terests in the said mill which cannot be
modified or diverted without due process
of law; that the employees have the right
mill during efficiency and good beha-
vior,without regard to religious, political
or economic opinions and associations;
that it Is against public policy and SUBJ
versive Of the fundamental principles of
American that a whole community of
workers should be denied employment
or suffer any other social detriment on
account of membership in church, a
political party or trades union; that it
is our duty as good citizens to resist by
every legal and ordinary means the I'M
constitutional, anarchic and revolution
ary policy of the Carnegie company,
which seems to evlnce contempt of
public and private interests and a dis
dam of the public conscience by its re-
fusal to submit to lawful arbitration,
and by the lawless importation of
band of armed mercenaries to forcibly
deprive the employees to the equitable
rights in advance of any legal adjudica-
ton thereupon and without previous
appeal to the lawful forces of Allegheny
county and the state of Pennsylvania.
VIII Legally Protect Their Rights.
"The committee wish it known that
we will prosecute the said public and
private interests in the courts of law
and equity, and that we demand of
congress and the state legislatures dis
hnct assertion OF the principle that the
public has an interest in such concerns
as that at Homestead. and that the state
has duty to judge the affairs of such
concerns when occasion may require.
Finally we desire to state emphat-
ically that as defenders Of and petition
ers for law and order that we pledge
ourselves to refrain from violence and
lawlessness, and that we rest our cause,
which is the peoples cause, the cause of
American liberty against anarchy on
the one hand and despotism on the
other, with the courts, the leHislature
and the public conscience"