Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1892-07-27

III ehC iiSho' hO uioiubolilcu hOW-
ever, that the citizens Of Homestead
were right. He maintained that,
according to the principles of law
which should hereafter be applied
to the solution of these troubles,
they had the right to be there.
Those men had a right to employ
ment there. They had earned the
right to live there. Those large
manufacturing establishments
would have to be, hereafter, regard
ed as political establishments in a
modified sense, and their owners
would have to be regarded as hold
ing their property subject to the
correlative rights of those without
whose services their property would
be utterly valueless. That only
conceded to them a right to
reasonable profit on the capital in
vested in their enterprises.
He maintained, furthermore, that
those workingmen, having spent
their lives in that peculiar line of
service, had the right to insist on
the permanence of their employ
ment, and that they had a right to
insist, also, on a reasonable COM
pensation for their services. The
civil-service law had been talked of
as applicable to public employment,
but he asserted that there was
law wider and broader than that
which gave to those men who were
employed in special pursuits, such
as railroads and manufactures, the
right to demand employment.
That was right which could only
be defeated by misconduct Oh their
part. He maintained, therefore,
that at the time of the assault on
the people at Homestead they were
where they had right to be.
They were on the ground which
they had q right to defend. They
were conducting themselves in the
line of their right.
He maintained the right of the
owners of the property to operate it
at their own will, and he also MAIN
tanned the right of the operatives to
assist in the operation. He main
tanned the right of both parties to
reasonable compensation for their
services and capital. He maintain
ed the right of the employee to con-
tinued ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS not
upon the will of the employer alone,
but dependent upon the good con-
duct of the employee.
The militia of the State of Penn
sylvania might be called out and
the inhabitants of the beautiful vii
lage Of Homestead might be exter-
minated, and what would be accom-
plished? Only human life would
be sacrificed in that struggle for
human rights. But would the
rights Of those large establishments
to conduct their own business be
establishedp On the contrary, the
laboring men Of the country
were so conscious of the existence
of the right which he asserted-the
right to continuous employment
during good behavior-that they
would continue toresist. The social
war would be still on, and it would
become the duty of the Christian
statesmen to find some road out OF
the difficulty. There had been q
time when individualism was the
universal rule, but to-day the world
was practically divided between en-
ployers and employed.
| Mr.. Voorhees, took the economic
side of the question and thorough
ly exposed the fallacies Of the Nc
Kinley bill. He treated the tragical
occurrence at Homestead as a prac.
tical commentary on Mr.. Hale's re.
solution as to the effects of the two
policies of protection" and tariff
for revenue only" Labor riots
were not, he said, the offspring of
the Democratic policy. They had
come under the Republican policy
of protection. Those poor people
at Homestead who had laid down
their lives had been led to believe
that the tariff was protecting them
but there never had been a greater
lie worked and woven into the leg
islation of a country.
The Republican Party had said
that the greater manufacturing ba-
rons had to be protected against
foreign competition so that they
might be able to pay higher wages
Have they done SO? Mr.. Carnegie
had got protection of So per cent.
OH iron and more than 70 per cent.
on steel, and, instead of paying his
workmen higher wages, he had no
tilted them of reduction of from
IL to 40 per cent. The beneficiary
of the tariff system had responded