The Indiana State sentinel., 1894-11-14

/
| fully appreciated that as soon as mobs
| ruled the organized forces of society
/ would crush the mobs and all responsible
| for them in the renlotest degree, and thai
| this meant defeat. The attacks upon cor
| porations and monopolies by the leaders
in their speeches are similar to those 10 be
| found in the magazines and industrial
| works Of the day. From the testimony
It is fair to conclude that strikers were
| concerned in the Outrages against law and
| order. although the number was undoubt-
J edly small as compared with the whole
number out"
The report adds: MANY impartial OBJ
servers are reaching tho view that much
| OF the real responsibility for these disor-
| ders rests with the people themselves and
| with the government for not adequately
| controlling monopolies and corporations,
| and for failing reasonably to protect the
| rights of labor and redress its wrongs. No
one asserts that laws can completely
| remedy contentious as TO wages, etc, but
many do insist that something substantial
can be accomplished in this direction If at
tempted honestly. reasonably and in good
faith
! Why Not Arbitration.
| In conclusion the report says:
"Since nations have grown to the wis
dom of avoiding disputes by Cancellation.
| and even Of settling them by arbitration,
/ why should capital and labor, in their de-
pendence upon each other, persist in cut
! ting each others throats as settlement
| Of differences? Official reports show that
! much progress has been made in the more
| sane direction of conciiiation and ar
| bitration even in America. Abroad they
/ are in advance Of US i'm this policy Were
! our population as dense and OppOrtuni-
! ties as limited as abroad. present indus
! trial conditions would keep as much more
| disturbed than we now are by contests
! between capital and labor. Some of our
| courts. however, are still pouring over
! the law reports of antiquity in order to
| construe conspiracy out OF labor unions.
| We also have employers who obstruct
| progress by perverting and misapplying
| the law of supply and demand, and who.
| while Insisting upon individualism Tor
| workmen. demand that they shall be let
| alone 10 combine as they please and that
| society and all It's forces shall protect
| them in their resulting contentious.
| The rapid concentration of power and
| wealth, under stimulating legislative con-
| ditiOns. in persons, corporations and mon
| opo,ies, has greatly changed the business
| and industrial situation. Our railroads
were constructed upon the theory that
| their competition would amply protect
| shippers as to rates, etc, and employees
| as to wages and other conditions. Com
| bnati0n has largely destroyed this the
/ ory. and has seriously disturbed the nat
! uTal working Of tne laws of supply and
1
| competition for labor between those who
| demand it, as well as among those who
| supply il. For instance, as we have
| shown. there is no longer any competitive
| demand among the twenty-fOur railroads
| at Chicago for switchmen. They have
| ceased competing with each other; they
| are no longer twenty-four separate and
! competing employers; they are virtually
one.
However men may differ about the
| propriety and legality of labor unions, we
! must all recognize the fact that we have
| them with US to stay and to grow more
| numerous and powerful. Is il not wise
| to fully recognize them by law; to admit
| their necessity labor guides and pro-
| tectOrs TO conserve their usefulness, in
! crease their responsibility and prevent
their fOllies and aggreSSiOnS by comforting
upon them the privileges enjoyed by cor
| p0rati0ns, with like proper restrictions and
| regulations?
THE growth of corporate power and
wealth has been the marvel of the past
| fifty years. Corporations have undOubtei-
| ~ benefited the country and brought it's
resources to our doors. 1t Will not be sur
| )yiSing if the marvel Of the next fifty
years be the advancement Of labor to
/ position of like pow er and responsibility.
] We have heretofore encouraged the one
and comparatively neglected the other
| Does not wisdom demand that each be
| encouraged to prosper legitimateIy and to
grow into harmonious relations of equal
standing and responsibility before the law?
This involves nothing hostile to the true
| Interests and rights Of either.
No Specific Remedies.
"The commission deems recommenda-
tions of specific remedies premature. Such
a problem, for instance. as universal gov
| ernment ownership of railroads is too vast
many-sided and far away, if attempted
to be considered as an immediate, practi
| al remedy. 1t belongs TO the sociaIistic
group of public questions where govern
ment ownership is advocated of monopo-
| les. such as telegraphs, telephones, ex-
! press companies and municipal ownership
# water works, gas and electric lighting
and street railways. These questions are
pressing more urgently as time goes on
| They need to be well studied and consid-
cred i'm every aspect by all citizens
| should continued combinations and con-
solidations result I'm half a dozen or less
Ownershps of our railroads within few
| years, as is by no means unlikely the
| question of government ownership will
| be forced 10 the front and we need to be
ready TO dispose Of ii intelligently. We
need to fear every hing revolutionary and
| wrong, but we need fear nothing that any
nation can successfully attempt in direc-
tions made necessary by changed economic
)r industrial conditions. Other nations
| under their conditions own and operate
| telegraphs and railroads with varying re-
| suits. Whether it is practicable for this
| nation TO do so successfully when IL be-
! comes necessary to save an investment or
| when the people determine il shall be
| done. is an open ana serious question
| which cannot be answered fully except by
actual experiment.
I'VE ought now to inaugurate a perman-
ect system Of investigation into the re-
| ,atiOus between railroads and employees in
| order to prepare to zeal with them intel.i-
| gently, and that we may conserva lively
| idOpt such remedies as are sustained by
pubic opinion for defects or wrongs that
| may from time to time, appear The
| question Of what shall be done Is, there
| fore. one OF expediency and not Of power
When railroads acted as Judge and Jury In
| passing upon the complaints of shippers
| the people demanded and congress granted
4 government tribunal where shippers and
railroads could meet on equa, terms and
| have the law adjust their differences. In
view Of the Chicago strike and its sug-
gested dangers the people have the same
right to provide a government commission
| 10 investigate and report on differences
between railroads and their employees to
the end that Interstate commerce and pub
&c order may be less disturbed by strikes
and boycotts. When rai,roaders secure
greater certainty Of their positions and of
the right Of promotion, compensation for
injury, ETC., it viii be time enough TO con-
slider such strict regulation for them as
we can now justly Apply to railroads
whose rights are protected by Jaws and
guarded by all the advantages Of greater
rasOr1roes and mora cOuC.aY1 fra red CONTROL