The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-07-05
A Hard Roe to Hoe.

Folly and hard luck seem leagued
together to give the strug,.
Cling remnants of industry and trade
hard fight for life in this country.
We are out of one strike into anoth-
err almost before we can catch our
breath. A great coal strike, costing
millions of dollars, is followed imme-
diatcly by a railroad strike that prom
Uses great deal Of trouble before it
is oyer, much hintlrancc to traffic, a
heavy load to the railroads, and 3
further delay Of that on which de-
ponds the recovery of the trale-the
restoration of the purchasing power
of the laboring classes.
1t will be remembered as a curions
phenomenon that after winter in
which many thousands of working
men were the recipients of charity,
while other thousands were grateful
for any other work at any wages that
private or public enterprise Or bencv=
olepce could provide, labor has dur=
ing the past few months seemed more
than usually intolerant Of any denial
Of its demands, and more than usu-
ally ready to restore to the strike,
with it's apparently irresistible temp
tation to violence.
1t is equally strange that employ
ers. realizing the injury done at such
time by these costly struggles,
should not have boon willing to go as
far in avoiding them as they have
subsequently gone in settling them.
The lack Of reasonable spirit of COM
promise and concession Of both sides
has added greatly to the burdens
that business has had to bear.
The railroads have suffered more
severely than any other interests
from these strikes. 1t has happened
that most Of them have directly affect
cd the transportation interests. The
coke strike, the strike on the Great
Northern and the soft coal strike all
affected railroad traffic and earnings,
and the present struggle over the
grievances Of the Pullman men will
add to the loss. The net earnings of
the railroads Of the United States
during the current fiscal year have
fallen IL per cent. below the net
earnings for 1898, The loss in gross
earnings has been even heavier,
amounting to about ID per cent.
Only rigid economy in operating cx-
penses, effected frequently in the
face Of threatened strikes, has pre-
vented the net earnings from show
ing like decrease. This, too, coy:
ers the Worlds Fair period, whcl
the passenger receipts Of several Of
the roads were unusually heavy.
The railroads are not in good shape
for any protractcd struggle with Mr..
Debs' new organization, and, though
they are probably little inclined to
make any concessions to it, they may
be still less inclined to take a drub-
bing intended for Mr. Pullman. DIR.
Debs is somewhat high handed, and
seems more interested in building up
his new organization of railroad EN-
ployes than in adding real strength
to the labor cause. Mr.. ncbs be-
lieves in fighting first and arbitrating
afterward. This is his second big
strike, AMI the rapidity with which
it has progressed is not the least re-
markable thing about 1t. Mr.. Debs
is bus;ly engaged in supplying the
public with another illustration of the
danger Of placing in the hands Of
one man or a few men the almost
absolute power possesses by the head
officials of labor organizations. In
the hands of hot-headed agitator it
is power for unlimited mischief to
interests. The ruthless
ness with which a man like Dcbs,
drunk With authority, ties up great
systems to carry q point in
which they are only remotely con
cernel, and the spirit of blind ohedi-
cnce among his followers that enables
his to do it, form one Of the ugliest
features of the labor situation,--
Coarie7-Jomnal.