St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-04
A SEVERE ARRANGEMENT.
REV cR0oKS CALLS THE POLITICIANS
Gown.
AND ALSO THE pLUTooRATs

In His Address to a Labor Mass
Meeting at His Church He Indf-
Gates That the Conditions Are
approaching Those Which In
cited the French Red Reign OF
Terror.
Rev. John w. Crooks spoke to mass
meeting of laboring men last evening at
the Burr Street Baptist church, upon
Hard Times" The following is di-
gest of his remarks:
Cardinal Gibbons says: 'In honoring
and uDholding labor the nation is
paving tribute to worth. For a con-
tented and happy working class are a
safeguard to the republic
what are the conditions as existing?
First condition-lS the most favored
cou..try upon which the sun shines:
rich in enterprise; more cash and nat
ural resources; richer than any other
nation on earth. Second condition-We
are in the midst of the land of plenty
we find hundreds of thousands Of hard
working and honest men on the point
of starvation. Third condition-There
Is a standing ARMY of hirelings, appar-
coerce the laboring men. | refer to
those detective agencies who are ready
to supply 100 or 1000 armed and
differed men ut a days notice. aud are
largely not under the control of the
law.
What are the causes of these hard
times? | want to declare my positive
belief that the potent cause is simply
political chicanery and political job
berry. War is not burning her bloody
way across the continent; pestilence,
that nightmare of death cholera. has
not laid onr section under her cursed
tribute. But just the same there are
thousands of mills and mines and man
ufactorles closed just as tight as if fam
Inc held the relnS of government. The
hrst cause, perhaps, is machinery.
Here is an army of giants who only ask
coal to eat and water to drink. They
never get tired and never 20 out on
strike; are not men who stop when Or
dered, and men from whom the bloated
plutocrat never hears the echo OF bread
riots. Secondhand Ethe cause is this
devlliSh greed after gold. The en-
ployer will cut down the wages of his
men to the lowest price at which he eau
hire human flesh and blood, and in too
many cases 1t is simply that he may
with still faster women, while the work
men are paying the bills at the expense
Of bread for their families. In out ma
ton many OF our large retail stores SIM
ply drive their girls to prostitution. /
ask you how it is possible for girl get
ting So to So week to paw her board,
lodging and laundry bills: to dress we'll
and wear jeweiry. and ride on the street
cars? Is it a mystery? No. there is no
mystery ID too many cases. 1t is done
at the cost Of virtue"
Alas that gold should be so dear and
flesh and blood so cheap.
Third-Another cause is monopoly.
Everything runs to trusts. just stop
and think of flour. Here wheat has been
selling all the fall at about so cents a
bushel-one-half the usual price. Bnt
ask In Gods name who has been buy
ing -four at about one-half the usual
price. Those barOnS of the Republic
are not satisfied with the whole hog,
but they want hog, pen and Swill pail
thrown in. Notice one sample: Some
few years ago one firm in Chicago
gained control of the pork market. and
i'll few weeks pushed up tue price of
pork until it was doubled; one deal
cleared $1,000, 600. The influence of
that was felt the whole world over
brokers Of commerce can close the fac
tory, stop man from working, and
keep him starving. and if he murmers,
can give him the same answer that has
made Commodore Vanderbilt notorious.
Give this system little time and
America will simply be land of million
aires and pauperS."
What will be the result? Well. God
only knows. We can only guess. There
| Is no metal which can stand an indefin-
lite amount Of pressure. Sooner or later
there will come an explosion. 1t came
! in France IN the days of her commun-
| ism, and the blood of her tyrants flowed
like water and fertilized the fields. 1t
came on England under Cromwell, and
| the heads of king and mobiles fell like
| snowfiakes. Whether the present in
| equality Will be wiped out with ballots
| or bullets l cannot tell. But l pray
| with ballots. With ballots you can do it.
When wilt Thou save the people,
| God of mercy, when?
The people, Lord, the people,
Not thrones and crowns, but men.
Flowers of thy heart. o God. they are,
Let them not pass ike reeds away.
Their heritage sunless day.
God save the people.