Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-25
capital, monopolies, corporations and

trusts.
It is not right to regard these strikes
as seeds of diesension sown by the hand
of relentless enemies of our nation;
rather it is right to regard them as the
cry of the oppressed, cry which
should never be heard in this christian
land. And let us find in these repeated
cries coming as they do louder and still
louder from all parts Of the land
with increasing frequency, and from re-
spectacle bodies of men, a warning that
capital has reached the zenith OF its
glory, and that honest sons of toll and
their wives and babies have rights
which it must respect, and that chief
among these rights is that of a full rep
resentation and q fair recognition in all
councils any act of which may in any
way affect the relation of labor to cspi-
tai.
Strikes are not to be deplored 90
much because of what follows them as
because of what they follow. Were it
not for the inequality of wealth which
enables one class of men to oppress an
other class there would be no such
thing as strikes. Wealth is power. 1t
is a cruel, heartless power. With it's
tyrannical oppression it is threatening
the future peace and prosperity of our
nation.
On the other hand, labor is beginning
TO assert itself. 1t realizes that it has
rights which capital should and must
respect, and in order to convince of this
fact, its representatives are perfecting
organizations which speak in unmis-
taxable tones-some times through the
medium OF strikes. And the time is not
far distant when, if congress and state
legislatures neglect to remedy the evil,
the different departments of labor will
be go confederated that an offense
against one will be an offense
against all, when if company
refuses TO meet and recognize legitimate
representatives of one department of
labor all departments will resent it, and
switchmen will not throw switch to
aid in making up train in which is a
car loaded with the products of that
company's mill, and yardmen will re-
fuse to drop pin coupling such car
| into train, and the fremen will not
throw shovel of coal into the frebox,
or the engineer pull the throttle of an
| engine to haul such train. And me-
chanics who are working on buildings
will refuse to use hammer or drive q
nail which is in part, or in whole, the
product of their work. And it is my
candid opinion that as time goes on and
cutdowns, lockouts, tieu-ps and strikes
agitate the public mind the army
of s'scabs' and "rats" will grow less
and less.
do not plead for an equal division of
wealth, for euch thing is unreasonable
and impracticable, but / do plead for
equal recognition. I do plead for fair
representation. / do plead for an honest
and fair settlement of differences which
must be inevitable between labor and
capital. / do plead for some considera-
| ton, at least, of the men who toll at
manual labor, and in behalf of the toll
| ing millions, backed by the authority of
Gods word, the Christian pulpit of our
| land ought to demand the application of
this text. 1t ought to thunder in the
ear of every class: eye shall not op-
press one another" How is this OPP
preston to be prevented? I answer by
arbitration. And the corporation or
capitalist not willing to submit to it
ought to be transported.
But as long as any corporation or
syndicate is permitted to exercise su-
! preme control, laboring men will be
| misused, their rights ignored and they,
with their families, will be ground be.
meath the ironlike heel of oppression.
1 am sorry that some of our strongest
labor organizations have been go un.
| fortunate in selecting leaders. That the
trainmen's highest official has placed a
| portion OF his followers upon the auction
| block and knocked them OFF, when the
bid was sufficiently large to suit him
there can be no doubt among fair-minded
men. That the man holding the same
position for the engineers sold himself
| body and breeches to the c., B. & @. is
generally conceded. Such rascality is
to be deplored, but it is not sufficient
reason to discredit organized labor any
more than is the fact that mob violence
| is sometimes displayed in strikes
F! sufficient reason that men should
never strike. do not contend that any
of these things are an unmixed good.
But I do contend that they are the
rumbling of awful thunder in sky
which seems to be growing darker with
| the clouds of labor trouble which have
risen from the sea of oppression, in
open, yea, blazen defiance of Gods
command: ''Ye shall not oppress one
another" And as the clouds rise and
grow darker, and the atmosphere about
is charged with these wrongs and dis
satisfaction, the lightning of violence
will soon crash upon US Is it not this
nations duty to drain out this sea oi
oppression from whence these clouds oil
trouble rise to cause dreadful commo.
ton in our midst? If this nation wishes
| to be free from strikes and their atten.
| dant evils let it see that God is honored
and obeyed when he says, "Ye shall not
| oppress one another"