Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-28
"VIRUS OF VESTED RIGHTS j,
John Burns Gives His Impressions OF
America.

h"SEAcus
A special dispatch to The Star from
Cleveland. dated yesterday, says: John
Burns, the English parliamentary leader,
addressed large audience here last even
ing, and in an interview today before leay-
ing the city for Pittsburg, he made many
comments on American institutions
The virus of vested rights will be the
uhuolns or this country" said Burns, stop
ping on Superior street to trace with his
iEoex niger the red lines indicating the
Vanderbilt lines on a map which hung in
the Lake Shore ticket office window.
Those lines remind me of the red fluid
the doctors used to show in the veins of
corpse for the benefit of students.
y GU see worked in a hospital as an en-
gineer and that's how 1 know about this
method of indicating the veins. Watch and
see II the Nanderbilts do not use their in
terests to suck the life fluid out of the
country"
Well what do you think of the city,"
Its just the same all other Ameri-
can cities. Like in shops, the best goods
are placed in the windows for your inspec-
ton. l was told to see Euclid avenue and
1 did. 1t is a fine street, though / believe
that taxes there ought to be increased 30
per cent so that you might have better
pavements; that the garbage might be re-
moved and that there might be a general
cleaning up. Everywhere the premonitory
ms OF industrial unrest and chaos We're
manifest. Times are growing worse in
stead OF better, seemed to be the unani-
nous opinion of those with whom | talk
ed.
In scorching Debs' head Judge Woods
simply snatched the judicial scalp from
his own head" was the English labor
leaders comment upon Debs punishment
Il don't believe there is a judge in Eng
land who would drag in a cross issue as
Judge Woods did and punish a man as he
did. But 1t is remarkable how lightly the
majority or American workingmen regard
NJ thn
judge is looked upon as fair and impartial.
In this country the practice appears to be
to inquire how did and so get such
pull with the judge to get such favor
able decision, Just as they said at the
opera house last night: 1t does not count
to get kick or a shove at anything it's
q pull you want
Americans also appear to think an Of
Tense against municipal corporation is
no heinous crime. | do | think ii is worse
than an offense against an individual. You
have no civic pride. or, at least, not enough
to keep in check those who use your cities
in their own interest. Your streets are
controlled by the monopolies in transpor-
tation and lighting. Such trust-ridden,
synd!cate-ruled condition of affairs as ex-
lists in the United States has no equal any
where, and 1T will continue so until your
working people arouse themselves and
learn to use and not be used by these
agents of comfort.
tine condition of your roads is a scandal
1TdNel OH lUei1, lllSlcIu OF DeinS a pleas
ure, is a laborious pilgrimage; your rail-
road stations are not much better.
Whats the cause of it all! Simply
this: They hustle for the dollar. 1t is he
same condition which prevailed in Eng
land fifty years ago. when the factory
system was at it's worst. The struggle for
money obstructs all your energies and you
nave no time for literature, science or art
or any of the amenities of life. You seem
to have taken up all the vices of the old
world and eschewed the good hings. Eng
land was once that way but there have
been some changes and there will be more.
The Americans are to be admired for
their grit, energy and hustle, but really l
much more admire the women of Amer-
ca than the men, and from them l expect
to come the influences that will cause
reform, woman sutfragists.' 1 certainly
have always been on the angels side. /
am the son of one woman and the hus-
band of another. What more would it re-
quire to put me on their side?'
Burns at Pittsburg.
About 1OO people assembled last night
at Pittsburg to listen to the speech of the
English labor leader Burns. His talk was
Identical with that given at Cleveland
Wednesday night, with the exception of a
few illusions to local affairs. He praised
the Homestead strikers for their noble
fight against Carnegie, whom he called a
professional phlanthropist." His advice
to the workingmen was that they build
their own Libraries, museums, etc.