The record-union., 1894-07-20
STAND BY THE LAWS.
How They Look at Us Away from
Home.

How They Look at Us Away from
Home.
Following is an extract from a letter
written in distant city and received by
young man in this city. 1t contains
some truths which all may read with
profit:
What do you mean, my boy, by with
holding, seemingly, your support to
the Government and laws of the United
States and State of California, and giving
aid and sympathy to those who have
rioted and rebelled against them? You.
native born American, who should be
proud of your country and the equal
chance it has afforded to every man !!
Y our sympathy should be for the man
who wants TO work and is prevented
not for the tyrsnnical fool who prevents.
1t cost some thousands of years of blood
and sweat for every man TO have the
privilege of selling his own labor and
controlling his own property. and any
set of men who deny these rights dc not
value liberty. There are men in Sacra-
mento who want to work for the railroad
company, and the company wants to
have them. These men and the company
have clear right TO come to such a per-
sonal agreement between themselves,
and the Government and laws must pro-
tect them in the right Ii it won't or
can't, personal liberty is lost and the Gov
ernment is overthrown.
Ii the strikers have right to prevent a
man from working on the cars they have
right to come between you and me and
say that you shall not work for s.. If
the railroad has not right to manage its
own property, you have not the right to
manage yours. The right of individual
liberty is fundamental and lies at the
bottom of the whole question. OF course
a man has a right to quit job if Tor any
reason he does not like it, but he has no
right to interfere with another taking his
place, and the company has the same
right to hire man or not as it pleases.
The city of Sacramento now stands dis
linguished over all the world for a denial
of these common and just laws. You
have permitted mob to take possession
of other peoples property and prevent
citizens from working, thus paralyZing
the business of the whole country. L
would rather, for my part, in the interest
of law and order and civil liberty, that
every rioter should get killed than that
any innocent man, acting within the
limits OF his personal freedom under
the laws, should De hurt. Sooner or
later the law viii put down all rioters.
even il million more strike and
make trouble. There is evidence enough
that the great majority of good people
everywhere Excepting, perhaps, Sacra-
mento, and there 1 know by report
there are seventy-five merchants all
right are in favor of law and order. and
will support the Government in guaran-
teeing to any and every citizen the right
to work for whom he pleases. This is
the law and it must be enforced. The
constitutional way Of changing or max
ing laws is by majority vote OF all the
people, not by riot and murder.
If any striker told you that there
would be wreck, you should have told
the authorities. Please get on the right
side of this question, or look out that you
don't get hurt. 1t is not material to the
question at this time, but it is neverthe-
less true, that strikes cannot raise wages.
They are regulated by the supply and de-
mand-by the number OF laborers COM
peting for the jobs. With million aud
half of men out of employment in the
country, no sensible man can hope for an
immediate general increase of wages. L
think that some of the newspapers in
your State should be indicted along with
the strikers for criminal conspiracy
against the peace. Yours truly, d.