The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-09-07

| with-ut violence IS an undoubted right OF
the laborcr. but II Is Ineffective and VIII
never secure him the result that he SEEKS.
| The strike with violence and the boycott.
| its foster brother. cannot be tolerated in
| civilized society. IL future contests are
| 20 be fought out. as Mr.. Saniel recon-
| mcnds, at the ballot-box. the laborer VIII
| certainly secure all the rights which he
can properly demand from the laws.
| When questions are fairly and fully de-
bated. and men are secured the right
10 register their opinions in perfectly fair
| elections. justice Will always be done
| sooner or later. We are entirely at one
with Mr. Saniei up to this point We
shall have 10 part company with hiii'
however. il his next step.
Ills substitute for strikes and boyeot's
| is this. He says
"The evident solution is not In pro
lection nor free trade, not in goIu, III
yer. nor In any capitalistic plaster on A."
wooden leg. but In a co-opera We ,tr.,,
monwealth. through which the pfoII D!he
laborer may have fun ac t,,,I e, SG Of his
labor. To obtain this IL IS necessary ~
take political action.
This is about the same as what Deos
said a few days ago TO the Labor Com
mission which has been sitting at Chi
caro- from which we infer that II is the
coming fad. and that IT IS destined TO be
the new doctrine OF all labor agitatOrs.
What sort OF a cooperative Common
wealth" as they call II. would this be-
The evil TO be eradcated Is possession Of
great wealth by individuals. That IS
what Debs, Sanie & co. preach to be an
Injustice TO those who have no property.
But Sanie says that when ne gets his
"co-operative Commonwealth" ne IS going
10 turn each laborer loose and give him
access 10 all means OF production. so
that he may secure for himself the fun
fruit of his labor" Now, II Saniei does
this will not each industrious laboTer
commence accommodating property as hard
as he can, and will there not soon be
another set OF capitalists made out Of the
present laborers. who will be the cause
Of the same so-called injustice to the then
laboring men that the present capltansts
are to the present laboring men? 1t seems
to us, therefore. that Saniel proposes no
more than leap from the frying pan into
the fire. Saniels Will therefore, hardly
be the accepted doctrine Of the future
The fad heretofore has been, and proba-
bly, will generally be. n "cO-OperatiVe
Commonwealth" I'm which all men VIII
be laborers, the state will own all proper
ty and all men will either work volun-
tariy for the increase Of the States
property, or Will be cOerced by physical
power into doing so. Indeed, the situation
seems inevitably to resolve itself into
one of four alternatives. either. first, the
strike and the boycott; second. the "co-
operative Commonwealth" In which each
man shall work for his own aggrandize-
ment: third, the "co-operative Common
wealth" In which each man shall VOlun-
tarily work or be cOerced into working for
the common stock; or. fourth. the present
state Of leaving each man 10 work for
himself under the operation Of the great
economic law of supply and demand. with
municipal laws that secure peaceful en-
joyment Of his property to all. We have
not space mere to discuss the "co-opera-
tive Commonwealth" IN which every man
will be a laborer for the purpose Of in
creasing common stock. nor do We think
that discussing such a proposition before
such readers as see The Times would
serve any useful end. We do not think
The Times mas ten readers, workinSmen
or men of leisare. who would not look
on a man as a fool that asked them TO
aid in bringing about any such condition
of society as that We close this discus
sion. therefore, with the remark that 1t
is evident 10 us that labor agitators are
gradually being driven from their notion
that workingmen can be helped by any
legislation whatever designed for the ben
eft of workingmen alone and that they
Will by degrees be forced to plant them
selves upon the everlasting foundation
principle Of Democracy-equality OF all
men before the laws, and laws that bear
equally upon all and confer favors upon
noua.