Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-03-08
a oARprNrER's CRITICISM


DAy.REGIsTER sketch entitled "Busl-
ness Men Meet" and air their troubled
feelings in regard to the general law
lessnessand the intrequency OF arrest.
Now, as far as these terrible crimes are
concerned. wherever there has been
any they have been brought to trial and
generally acquitted, simply because the
narties arrested were In every instance
on the defensive.
No If the Chamber of Commerce
wants things settled up, and that salts
factory, why do they not make start
in the right direction, and that Is to
form some resolutions of some character
that will bear upon the Street Railway
Company?
1t is an undeniable fact that without
labor there would be no Chamber or
Commerce. This world to-day is just
what labor has made it. The capitalist
saws he works with his brains. Or
course he does; he uses his brains
to smuggle the hard earnings OF the
laborer from him and put 1t
into is own pocket. After getting a
good picking of it there he then goes
into a company, combine, trust or syn
dictate with ! lot more OF his own stamp
for the purpose of having better ad-
vantage of reducing the laoorer down
lower than he could singly and still
cries out the laboring man has no right
to organize or to go on strike when he
sees and knows he is going to have his
wages cut down, and he is already
down to where he cannot provide COM
Portable and decent clothes and pro-
visions for himself and family. Now
we have and boast OF our free schools,
but what use are they to the laboring
man when he cannot earn enough TO
clothe his children and furnish neces-
sary books?
The day was, and that In our own
city, that If a glass worker got thrown
ont in one factory he could go to an
other and get work. That is not the
case to-day. 1t is the United States
glass house to-day, and when you get
out Of that you are out for good. The
Stamping Company, OF Wheeling,
knocked its people out OF their union,
and what are the wages to-day? live
dollars per week for q laboring man
mechanics, and they mush furnish their
polishing wheels and polish, reducing
their wages to a little ever five dollars
per week. 1t is plain to be seen that
the Street Railway Company is at the
same game. OF course, they did not d.
rectly break their contract with the
Union on wage basis, but they did say
they would break up the Union, and 1t
was a well-known fact that they had
done the same thing on other branches
OF their road, and as soon as the
Unions were broken the wages
were put down TO twelve and
fourteen cents per hour and it is GER
tainly proof enough that is what they
are fully determined to do it here or
they would have settled that dispute
long ago. The street car men never
claimed they were sure those men were
right and did not deserve to be put off,
but they did claim the company must
do as it had agreed to and find out for
sure whether they had done wrong or not
before dlscharginy. Now the majority
of the citizens think and believe to-day
that the railroad company pays no taxes
on its road or rolling stock. II that is
the case, why does the city have to pro-
tect il? II 1 haul load Of coal and
leave it on the street in front OF my
residence, I don't think the Mayor
would send the police to see the school
boys did not throw it away, and If /
failed 10 put red light out by it at
night he would have me in Police Court
Al lie thorn
red lights around those car
loads of bricks that lay and
have laid for months on Jacob street
between Thirty-sixth and Thirty-eighth
Oh, no. Why does not the Chamber OF
Commerce say something about that?
Also the tons of iron laying along the
road and wire tripping up the citizens
at every block? Oh, mol They will
keep still there.
want peace and Quietness as well
as any other sperson, and have crit
lcised the looseness of the City Of
Wheeling a great deal, but it cannot be
wondered at, it being a manufacturing
city and three-fourths or more
Of it's population laboring people,
If ANYTHING turns up that
hurts the laborer it will affect
all the laborers, and when It hurts them
all it must hurt the Chamber Of Com
merce a little, and that body will do
well 10 read the old maxim, "Put your
self in his place." while before pass
ing judgment on your fellow man. The
Street Railway Company say they are
running their cars for the public, which
| deny, as three-fourths of the people
here are working men and women; they
do not bring their cars out until those
people have got to their destination
in the morning, and take them
off the road before those people
can 90 home at night, and another thing
that Company also knows that all the
working classes belong to unions, and
they have seen by the daily papers that
each union has passed resolutions and
imposed fines on its members if they
should patronize the street railway.
Therefore, they cannot be running for
The good of the public, and the patron
age they receive goes farther TO prove
they are not running for the benefit OF
the public.
The Chamber Of Commerce might
have recommended settlement, and
that would have had better influence
with the people.
sincerely hope that there will be an
end to the trouble before long, but l, fol-
one, as a union man, would live on dry
bread and water good while before.
would give in for the street railway tC
break up the union. and there are are {
great many more ike me.
A CARPENTER.
The Spencer Hospital.
To the Editor OF the REGISTER: