The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-07-04

under the present construction of the
laws of this free country. What do you
think Of your laws, of your government,
4 Of your constitution, of your lawmakers
and Of your country
ssToo many people don't understand
| this matter The middle classes who
/ should be with the laD0rers, but whose
| desire for society has made them cast off
! their poorer brothers and endeavor
weakly to associate with the SO called
| arisEocracy, even though they are com
PEELED ID make over their last
winters clothes and wear them for
summer TO do II, these people, l say,
pay not the slightest attention TO the
! IaDoring man until they get caught
away from home and can't get back. 1t
interferes with their pleasures then and
they begin to ask wi hat il Is all about
This is the day Of doom 1T has been
coming ever since the world was created
I The time has come when the is
and there are but two sides TO the Ques-
tIon. You must be on one side Or the
other. Thank Almighty God l dIdn'E
for the people to know which side l
on. There is no neutral ground that
any man can stand on with honor to him.
self The man who il not on one side or
the other, and who does not declare him
self unhinchingIy As for or against the
laborer, is un-American, coward and a
cur.
Tomorrow is Independence Day.
(This with sarcastic bitterness Indepen-
dence Day is a lie. For one day in each
year we get off our stitfened knees and
declare with mphasis that free
and independent and then 90 out the
rest of the year and prove the utterances
made that day are lies.
There il an amendment to the con-
stitution Of the United States-read it
for ourselves-which gives each and
every American the right to bear arms,
and yet we are now forbidden it. We are
American citizens; shall we stand it?'
Clemens speech was so frequently
punctuated with applause that to men
tion it would take almost as much room
as the speech itself
Thomas, the singer, was present and
made great hit with ''One Of His Legs is
Longer than it Really Ought to Be- but
unfortunately responded to the encore
cost him his life If the crowd had not
been in such good humor.
Mrs. Annie /. Diggs sat in a front chair
with her hat off and there was a demand
for her that threatened to disrupt some
blood vessels SO she came forward If
the crowd had been attentive before
they We're dOuDly 50 now. Following
are some things she said:
s-Your president has said that I am
timid. | wish to deny it. Why l never !
was even afraid of mouse. (Laughter)
1 am not afraid now to stand before the
world and work for the life Of organized
labor against organized capital
If you win this victory you win vic
tory for all time to come. There viii be /
no necessity for b,~odshed in this con
hict. Labor thoroughly organized is
strong enough to do the work. In your
hand lies the rescue of all mankind. You /
have justice and right back of you and /
and you must and will win this victory. /
| believe Gods time for it has come.
"Beware of bloodshed. You must win |
with peace and intelligence No lasting /
victory was ever won By bloodshed +
When your forefather5 and mine
stained the snow at Valley Forge |
with the blood from their bare feet,
show you tonight how the victory has
not been lasting one Of freedom from I
Great Britain, but that would be poll /
tics"
Mrs. Diggs here inserted a plea for
the scab, but it didn't call out a great F
amount of applause, though the speaker j
assured the union men that the scabs /
would be with them soon.
IF / were making political speech 4
I would show you how to win
wrongs heaped on you by capital
by enfranchising the women They and /
their votes could and would help you as
nothing else can. Read carefully that
new declaration of independence=I will +
not say where il was uttered nor by whom
and see if / am not right. Do not con-
slider partisanism IN the question. hate I
partisanlsm-
1T is fact that we have not yet on
this continent a real republic 1t has
been wen fathered, perhaps, but it has
moi yet been well mOthered, and that is
what is the matter with it."
In speaking of Chief Arthur and his
refusal to let the engineers help the A
r. o., Mrs. Diggs said: "Shame on him.
May God have mercy on his soul; il is
all l can do to be merciful TO him my
self"
Thomas then sang the. song, "After
the Strike" one verse of " hich was
printed in yesterdays JOURNAL. and the
following set of resolutions from the To-
peka Irades and Labor assembly was
read and received with loud cheers:
Where's. The existing deporsibe condition
Of affairs wound indicate hat gO.a.e Iu0nO-
ply has entered lnlO a gigantic comb ne 20 crush
erninent, that the laborer Is woF.hy MS n.re;
and
Whereas. Said combine have apparently de-
cided TO use every effort in their means 10
colHpi1sh their neiarlous Ges SIS. no matter
what the result 20 the iADOrlns Cd ses; lei Al be
Resolved BY Topeka Trades and Labor AS
sembly. that its members DesIre 10 enrol The
army Of those v 40 are str.vlng - advance the
cause OF tle working nan IN the lntelesLs Of
al tile command Of lie leaders Uf rand
movement p-eagng to faithlu y fulfll
duties % which we may be asslgAeI
Trusting that efforts n past in the
cause OF organized labor VIII answer a cri-
Ierion Ia the future. we remain Ia ule cause Of
1oPEKA raADAs ASD LABOR ASSEMBLY,
j. o. "a NUEL>OS, secretary.
President Sloat then made a few re-
marks on the strike situation and admon-
ished the men to keep away from the
cOmpany's property and the meeting ad-
lourned- There are no meetings today.
y aNmn Enrrvc n-n D<rr.r,u,