Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1894-08-04
About Strikes.

LEAR CIh.--1 am glaQ 10 see IN your issue
for this week that there is at least one paper
which does not cater to anarchy.
Why is it that so many lecturers and so
many papers and magazines follow the foot
steps of the political demagogues who are
advocating socialism and anarchy and talk
ing about tyranny of capital and the oppres-
sion of labor.
The tyranny of capital does not compare
with the tyranny of these so-called labor
CARNATIONS.
During the past year there have been
strikes in almost all departments of bust
ness, and the representatives of the labor
organizations have not allowed men who
wish to work to do so.
judge that during all these strikes not
more than one-fourth of the men who quit
work did so on what, in their own Judgment
was for their best interest, but that they
must follow the orders of their leaders.
In my judgment, after looking carefully
through the arguments pro and con and the
papers of the country for the last two years.
if all of the laboring men who wanted to
work, and for whom there was work to do at
some price, had been allowed to do so by
other laborers the panic through which
have gone would have been comparatively
slight. There has been work to do at prices
that would at least have kept body and soul
together and probably have allowed, on
economical basis, of a saving to most la
borers.
Of course, there would have been some
people who would not have found employ
ment, but, in comparison to the mass that
have been out of work, this would have been
small and these people could have been
taken care of by the localities in which they
lived without serious trouble.
Talk about the tyranny of capital-why,
the tyranny of labor organizations is ten
fold worse than any undertaken by capital
lists. Capital has received a very small re-
Enumeration for a number of years, while
labor has been paid literally for all that
it did.
am fully convinced that the great need
of the day is to protect labor against labor
organizations. If it were not for the so
called labor organizations of the Debs and
Sovereigns the great mass of people who
depend upon manual labor for their support
would be in fair condition.
The lecturers that refer to above and the
political demagogues talk about slavery of
come about except through these labor or
CARNATIONS.
As at present organized these labor organ
izations make slaves of almost every one
belonging to them, in this way; they leave
their own interests and the bread and butter
of their families to some crank who has,
through chicanery, gotten control of the
organization and they feel obliged to follow
his commands. Hardly man belonging
to a labor organization but what is obliged,
if he follows out their rules, to, at times,
leave his family without much to eat or wear.
But did not start out to discuss these
questions, but rather to call attention to the
fact that our pa pers and lecturers are cater
ing to the principles of anarchists and so
calists to great extent. Do not think but
what I believe that under right control or
ganized labor may be of some benefit to
those belonging to them, but, as at present
handled by the leaders, it is of great detri-
ment to all concerned.
In these times it would seem as though
men who wanted to work would be willing
TO concede to small reduction rather than
to lie idle, but in fact this Is not There
are contractors who want to erect buildings,
manufacturers OF all hlLuS WHO want 10 go
into business and are Gebarred from doing
SO because labor will not come down little
in the price of work This is a notorious
fact. Very few men who own money have
realized over three four per cent. during
the last two or three years, while the price of
labor has been kept up to its old standard.
A dollar to-day will bring more of the COM
forts and necessities of life than dollar
and half would two or three years ago.
Why should not labor come down as we'll as
the use of capital.
Political demogogues have been bowling
on the stump and through the papers about
legislation being all in favor of capital The
facts are that during that time legislation
has been in favor of labor and against ca pi-
tall Look at the legslatio against railroad
companies, which in almost every state has
resulted in the cutting down of rates of
freight below price on which business can
be done with any profit, and at the same
time the howl goes up that these corpora
tions are making slaves of their employees,
which is not true.
1t is notorious fact also that, owing to
the clatter of these demagogues, the jurors
will give judgments against corporations
beyond all reason in nearly every case that
is brought before them.
One word more and l am done. Men who
want to work in our mines and on railroads
are to-day being shot down in various parts
of the United St ties by the representatives
of organized labor. Once more I repeat, the
great desideratum at present is to protect
the laboring men in their right to work when
they want to and on such terms as they de-
sire. F. P. BAKER.
In Kansas Newspaper Union.