The National tribune., 1894-07-12
THE NEW INsURREcTroN.

/
voted friend of the workingman a!
any paper can be; but it can see nothing
but wicked folly in the present revolt
against the well-being of the whole peo
pie. We are not passing upon the merits
of the dispute between the Pullman
Company and its employees. That Is
mere pretext. 1t has absolutely nothing
to do with the matter What makes IT
particularly provoking is that the au-
thors of the strike have not had the
decency to inform the people as to the
nature of the dispute, and appeal to
their sense of justice. Every American
citizen is a genuine friend of the work
ingman, and willing at all 1mes to
stand by him to the last in every effort
to secure justice and prevent wrong. If
the Pullman employees had any substan-
tial grievances, and had presented them
to the public, they would have secured
the active sympathy and assistance of
every one in obtaining full redress. But
Debs and his crowd treated the public
with a contempt that Vanderbilt or
Gould would have never dared. An
unknown autocrat suddenly appeared
on the scene, and proceeded to take
possession of a great city, and infict
untold injuries upon the people of the
whole country. The ordinary public
communications were interrupted; men
were prevented going on errands of
necessity, business, or pleasure; the mails
were stopped; millions of dollars worth
of perishable property belonging to en-
tirely innocent people were destroyed by
the delay in transportation mobs were
melted the officers Of the law defied,
insulted, beaten, and killed cars and
other property burned up; and incon-
ceivable injury done to all manner of
people who had not the slightest con-
nection with Pullman, who were Just as
much workingmen as the autocrat and
his gang, and who had just as many
rights in this country as he.
This sort of thing is simply intolerable
Il cannot be endured if we are going to
have any sort of law or Government at
all. 1t is worse tyranny than any in
Russia. There the tyranny is at least
orderly and systematic. 1t has laws
and regulations, and assures those who
obey these that they may 60 about their
vocations undisturbed. But Debs insti-
tutes new order of despotism. infinitely
more obnoxious. 1t means that any
hour some selfappointed dictator may
rise up anywhere and infict untold
losses and inconvenience on the people
upon any pretext that may occur to
him. Life in country subject to such
disturbances would be simply unbear-
able.
To say that this is in the interests of
labor-that it is struggle against the
power of selfish corporations-is simply
idiotic. 1t is inconceivable impudence
for any man or set of men to rise up and
say that they are the only workingmen,
and the only true apostles of labor's
rights, and if their particular way of
reform is not at once adopted, without
discussion or question, they will proceed
to smash everything and everybody. 1t
does not strengthen their position that
they are able to get some thousands to
Join In their schemes. This is large
country, and the census shows that there
are tens of millions Of wage workers in
it. Probably the ideas of reform enter
tanned by these will differ quite essen
TALLY from those of these self-appointed
dictators. 1t has always been so.
1--WE, the people" govern this country,
and must govern it The majority must
say what the laws shall be, and who
shall execute them, and then everybody
must obey them. We must have no
combinations of men resisting those laws
or their officers, under any pretext. We
must have no men setting themselves up
above the laws, for any pretended object.