The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-07-18
STRIKERS AND TnusTs.

! STRIKERS AND TRUSTS.
None Of the corporation newspapers
have had the temerity to draw e parallel
between the action of the strikers and
the action OF the trusts until the Chicago
Inter Ocean published this:
If it be true that the whole body Of
/ people can be made tn suffer because one
great employer Of labor declines To pay
a certain price for work, then 1t is true
! that the whole body of the people can
| be made 10 suffer If one great purchaser
! OF sugar refuses 10 pay a certain price
| tor It, H2vemeyer has as much right to
J form league with the capitalists who
/ import tea and coffee, or produce -four,
! or make clothing. or transport men and
/ goods. or in any way minister to the
/ comfort of the people, as Debs has 10
/ combine all branches of labor into one
| offensive and defensive league. The
/ rieht is as clear in one case as in the
] other, or, rather the wrong is as clear in
! one case as in the other.
/ We submit that this is exactly what
Havemeyer ard other tariff benehciaries
have done by the aid of the republican
party. and what they are now trying
to do by The aid OF the republican party
! and a few democratic traitors. If there
be anything unlawful in combinations
'in restraint of trade or commerce" the
Havemeyers and their ilk have set the
example in law-breaIing. The Have
meyers. in the first place formed a COM
! bination of az the sugar refineries in the
country for the express purpose of con
trolling the price of sugar. They have
admitted it, and every one knows it is
true. They combined with other protect
| ed interests to secure the bounty given
them by the Mckinley bill They have
admitted it. and every one knows it is
with other protected interests 20 hold
the Infamous concession made to them
by the German bill. They have testified
that they are in Washington for that pur-
pose. They have testified that they con-
tributed to the state campaign funds of
both parties in order to secure political
influence to promote their restraint Of
trade and commerce..
The Havemeyers sugar trust was driv-
en- out of New York oy prosecution un-
der the state laws. 1t took refuge in
New Jersey. The sherman law was
adopted for the alleged purpose of ex-
terminating trusts. The New York dem
ocratic papers urged Attorney General
Miller to prosecute the sugar trust, and
he refused, or at least failed. to do it.
Acknowledgement Olney came i'm and he.
too was urged to prosecute the sugar
trust. He likewise failed to do SO, and
also stated that the Sherman law was
not made to be enforced" He continued
of that opinion until he found that John
Sherman's ingenuity had made the law
available for the purpose of Furnishing
strikers. and then he decided that it was
made to be enforced. Federal judges at
once took the cue and issued the most
sweeping injunctions under this law.
which had never been found available
to punish any conspiracy of capital. and
in this city we had the extraordinary
spectacle of a federal judge promenading
the railroad tracks and furnishing ad-
vice and assistance to the corporations.
We call upon Attorney-General Olney
and the federal courts to show some
thing of their desire to prevent lawless-
ness by prosecuting some of the notori-
Gus combinations of capital. If they had
shown one-tenth the zeal In furnishing
such lawless combinations as the sugar
trust, the whisky trust the lead trust,
the copper trust, the plate-glass trust,
and dozens Of other well-known law
breakers the country would not now be
Inundated by the spectacle Of these law
breakers debating terms to a senate
which was pledged to exterminate them.
Let us have a little justice in this coun-
try. If the law is good enough for the
punishment Of strikers it is good enough
for the punishment of trusts. Let these
gentlemen show some of their exalted
patriotism and sublime devotion to law
and order by enforcing this law on the
other side of the fence. There is most
ample room for its employment there.