The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-07-13
THE RIGHTS OF CARNEGIE AND THE
MOKKMEN AGAIN.

1t is by discussion that truth is arrived at.
We therefore very cheerfully publish the fol-
lowing letter, commenting upon one of our
recent editorials
HENRIco COUNTY, July 9. 1892.
Mr.. Editor;
In your issue or the 9th you seem 10
think Mr.. Carneges action 10 the affair
ut Homestead Pa. was all right and the
mems all wrong. In discussing the rights of
landlord and the occupant or tenant you
think the landlOrd-in this case Mr.. Carnegie
or his agent-had the right TO proceed by
force and take possession OF his property.
Now on this point want 10 state a case. i
am no lawyer but think | can understand
what is justice and right, and if law is
not Justice 1t ought to be. / once rented
a house to a tenant by the week. in an
adjoining State. Some time after renting
the occupants left without any notice, lock-
ing up the house and taking the key with
them. | knew nothing of their whereabouts
for Six weeks In the meantime suitable
tenant offered TO rent and opened the house
and gave him possession. Suit was brought
and had to pay damage and cost. / do not
know If this was either law or justice, but
such was the fact. / learned that / should
have proceeded according to law provided in
such cases. Now. if was wrong. then Mr..
Carnegie is wrong now. 10 may be said he
only ruse to get in the Pnkerton
men. These hirelings were not under
the authority or lead of the sheriff, they were
not armed with authority from the United
States Government. They had no more au-
thority 10 appear there than | had equipped
with Winchester rifles and every appliance for
murder and death. The men were at their
home IN their own town. as they had a right
to be. Have | a right TO shoot you down or
hire some one else 10 shOotyou, even il You are
on my property Has Mr.. Carnegie right TO
bring one or three hundred men, with guns
&c, to shoot these men. even if they were
trespasssers on his property! But up to
this time these men did not occupy
his property. They had violated no laws,
but when these foreign mercenaries, these
Hessans. appeared and the gage of battle
was thrown down can any one blame the men
for taking advantage of the situation They
had appealed to the arbitrament of battle.
let them take the consequences. 1t is not a
question OF his right 10 invite peaceable
citizen, a Sunday-schoOl scholar" or even a
Pinkerton detective or 300 of them, but had
he the right TO hire these assassins TO murder
these people or to menace them with muir
derY Tor II would be sure 10 provoke resistance
from them. can only view them in the
character of assasslns and Mr.. Carnegie d Co.
as their hackers. EQUIrY
We shall answer our correspondents points
seriatim.
If our correspondent will read our article
again ne will find that we do not claim that
Mr.. Carnegie had the right to take possession
of his property by force. No man has q right
under our system of laws to use force under
any circumstances. except to repel force. Ii
right can be got by force alone. the citizen
must apply to the judicial tribunals, who will
direct the public force to be used. II the
strikers had been in possession of Mr. Carne-
gie's property. claiming right to occupy and
possess it, Dir. Carnegie would have had 10
bring them into court and ask the court to
dispossess them and restore his prop
erty to him. But the strikers have never
denied Mr. Carnegie's right to take
possession of his property. They
have all along admitted that it was his. and
that he had the right to take possession.
When he undertook TO exercise that admitted
right 1t was OF no consequence to any one
whether he did 80 alone or with ten compan-
ions or with thousand companions. IL was
OF no consequence 10 any one whether his
companions went with him from friendship
or whether they were paid to 60 along with
him, and 1t was Of no consequence to any
one whether his companions were armed or
unarmed. or whether they were called Pinker-
tons OF Dunbartons. If our correspondent
WIZ renect on his own rights in respect to
his own houss he will see what Mr.. Csrne-
g'es rights were in respect to his mills.