New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-08-27

y
upon my neiehbors. II can support myself.
and will not. because I cannot dictate the
amount am to receive. I am dishonest and ought
to be placed In q workhouse.
The above quotation Is clear cut and In the
main correct hardly think however. any one
will claim that msn have not right TO refuse
to work for a certain price II that price seems 10
them less than their work Is worth, and II they
believe that they can get better price by look
ing further. In substance Dicks statement Is
simply this that no man has right to say II he
cannot get certain price for his labor that ne
will not work at all. That Is no doubt true. but
that is seldom II ever. the position taken by
workingmen. Their position is this I'VE be-
lieye our work Is worth more than you oiier US
We will not agree at this time to WORK Al ina.
price. We believe can get more eise""efe'
Or perhaps I'VE think II we workingmen. all OF
us, Join together and quit work. we can icao you
to gee that 1t Ia for your interest 70 pay Us 'ore
now At all events we propose 10 make inc az
tempt not because we do not desire 70 WORN At
ALL but because we think the wages oHereo 100
low and we have a right TO make fair struse.e
TO secure what honestly peheVe our i"oo'
should bring" How are these men to know
whether they can get better wages unless 'hey
make a strong effort to get them? No man will
claim that WOrklngnleH co "O' P'"'@N' 49, ''o~'
legally and morally. 10 make such trial.
RIGHT TO SEEK BETTER TERMS
A man has a load Of perishabe property for
sale A dealer offers him certain price. lie re-
fuses TO take that price. He believes ne can get
more At all events he hopes he can' ana ne
proposes TO try Has he not a right TO 90 tha''
He does not say by refusing the nrst oner' 'ha'
he will let his fruit rot before he will sell 1t at
that price He simply says. Il believe II ID worth
more I may be compelled to take that price, or
even less, but not now. will try to 90 oe'ter'
Every man surely has that right, even II he
should in the end fail TO make any sale, ana
though he should lose his goods entirely. II the
man knew absolutely that the price onereo MIN
was all he could get. and that ne must accept
that or lose his load entirely, then there wouia
he M excuse for his refusal. But 1t would be a
strange law. even then. that would compel him to
sell his goods, whether he wished to or not.
The same is true OF labor There Is law now
IN most States against vagrancy; but the great
body of workngmen. even those VINO enter INTO
str,les are not yagrants They are willing 70
work hut they seek better terms than are or
fered They have an un6oubted right to DO this
IN legitimate and businesslike way. nave
heretofore been writing upon this subject mainly
from legal point Of view. Morally men nave no
right to be idle. when their own support ana 'he
support OF thei- families depend upon the fruits
q, their labor. But this obligation In no way
should prevent them from an honest EFFORT 70 get
what seems to them a fair price for their WORK.
STRIKE WHICH SUCCEEDED.
The streetcar drivers In New-York City and
IN prooklvn were once compelled to work FOUR
teen and sixteen hours each day. they remoh-
.trated they pleaded with their employers 70
Give them relief from such overwork. the rehei
thsv sought was refused. Finally they quit WORK
IN a bodv and went quietly to their homes ana
remained there They committed no Woiehce'
thew interfered with no men who attempted 10
take their places. Their demand was not the
demand stated by "Dick" at all. They did no'
saw either by word or deed" II we cannot nave
our hours Of labor shortened. we Will s'arVe our
| selves or let our families starve, or become
public charge They simply said this ana no'h'hs
more: "Our employers refuse to recognize ou'
inst claim for shorter hours We nave useo aisu
ment and entreaty, and they nave aVaheo Va
| nothing We now propose to try ORGANIZED e"o''
combined action. The step we are taxing VIII us
| commode the public. We know that. But ou'
| cause is so Just that we hope In THIS way 10 en-
| LIST the public in our favor and we expect .he
nubic TO aid US in securing our just demands
The neople OF New-York and Brooklyn ana th'
entire newspaper press united In sustaining 'hoS'
car drivers in the step they had taken! why
| BECAUSE they had demanded what was nsh'
| They succeeded in getting what they sous"'
whvo BECAUSE they were backed by the press
| - s,orh have succeeded Their demand was q
list ono thew resorted only TO legal methods u
secure what they claimed. The people were WITT
| them because their cause was JUST
! Now because those men succeeded when they
ware clearly in the right, and employed only lega
| uethods. II does not follow that other men nave
| tho moral right to employ illegal methods whef
| ,hsv are seeking to gain point not clearly right
or worse still, when they seek to gain a pom
clearly wrong. and when they must defy INT
host instincts and the better judgment OF the
| public In what they attempt to GAIN
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION
| "Rut" saws Mr.. Debs, Mr.: Pullman refused t
| arhtrate and no fair man can ever refuse TO SUD
| mi, differences to arbitration" More than that
these agitators all over the country are now de
| handing that a law shall be enacted which VII
| secure In every instance compulsory aroltra
| ton"
l. When differences arise among men about mat
tiers Of account. about certain things which have
been performed. or certain acts which shou''
| have been left undone. no more honorable metho'
can be pursued than to leave such differences u
the decision OF some third party, and an agree
ment to abide by such decision should generaii!
| be made.
| But that Is not compulsory arbitration. Ever!
man will agree that there are many cases II
which men Of sense would be willing TO leave tn
decision to arbitration But no one will den!
that there are numerous questions which ma!
| arise In the business world about which no on
| should be asked. much less compelled to suoml
| TO the decision OF any outsider Workingmel
| should never ask their employers 10 submit an!
| question to arbitration when they would not b
| willing TO submit the same question. condition
| reversed to arbitration themselves
! Tst ma illustrate, Workingmen would not b
| willing 10 grant the right. even to concern 10
whom they had worked for years TO compei tnen
10 stay a single day after they wanted 70 ieaVe
| or 10 stay at wages they were not willing TO &C
| cent Compulsory arbitration which could o