Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1894-07-13
beaten, AND sURuGNpEn.


u was ioreshadowed I'm the News
last evening that Mr.. Debs, "a head u
the American Railway Union, would
call on the great strikp today. The
Dispatches now announce that at $3.50
O'Clock this friday morning he took
the anticipated step, and tho iirsi char
ter Of the struggle inAuruntc sixteen
days ago may be said % have ended.
That the result Ia severe defeat 20 the
labor organizations concerned, none
can deny; pnd 10 Ia only this surrender
when ais forces were being driven
from the fold Rt every point
that has savei DcosS otganiz,-
ton from INN dlate and irrcirlevablc
ruin. II IL doubtful whether It ever
can be brought to the same point Of
efficiency which 1t exhibited at the
orening OF the fight.
Neither Mr.. Dobs nor Mr. Sovereign
can be given credit Tor saving the
stfikers' organizations even In their
present discounted position. The
former overestimatcd the power which
was behind him and his own ability
10 conduct an orderly strike, aud pot
hops hia great blunder mag be u some
extent oxcusablo on the ground
Of Ignorance Of nciunl c1ndi.
tlons but a colossal bIuudor II was,
nevcftheless. lie had secured a signal
Victory over tho Northern Pacific In
tho strike there, aud, flushed with
triumph, evidently thought he could
win IN a general fight with the rail.
ways, but was mistaken. Mt. Sow
eteign, however, made an error which
no capable leader ever was guilty Of;
he endeavored 10 throw his forces 10
tho losing side at time when the
effect could bu only 70 Increase the dis
Rstrous results to the aabor side In tue
contest. The rank and filo of tho
knights Of LAbor saw their chicl'a mis-.
take and refused TO enter tho ilsld IN the
faceoi certain defeat. IL was reserved
10 Samuel Gompcrs, Of tho Federation
OF Labor, TO extrlcate the other labor
leaders out OF their difficulty In tho
most graceful manner possible under
the circumstances. In the heated die
ouasions nj the meeting Of the Fedora.
ton In Chiesgo yesterday, ho persist.
entity opposed his fiery colleagues, aud
insisted that the strike should be-
stopped, n only because Of the great
damage II was causing 10 the country.
For this reason he urged that the
Pullman employees make Of Mt.
Debs the request which they
did, TO declare the boycott Oh, IN order
that the A. II. u. and X. VI l.. leaders
ana their hackers might he lot down
easy. Hence the surrender Of more
than n hundred thousand strikers TO-
day.
Il would seem that this last aud
greatest OF slrlSes would be- convincing
proof 10 the labor organizations that
there IL something seriously at fault In
that method Of enforcing oompll.
ance with their demands. They
have inflicted Immense loss up
on their oppoAent, It Is truo.
But the loss to tho country
has been greater still, therefore In
effect the strikers have proven them
selves more serious menace 10 the
nation than to the mOnopolles they
claim to be- contending against. Aud
Of the three great interests concerned,
the strikers have suffered most OF all,
thus showing that they are their own
worst enemies in such conflict As
tres Ia best known by IL fruit, it is
plain that the general strike procedure
lisa serious evil TO the laooring classes,
aud should be abandoned for more
worthy and effective methods. That a
change Of bAso Will be adopted by the
labor organizations after this latest exc
perienco seems quite probable. They
must Institute new methods or so 90
the wall. That the labor question IL
as iRf from being settled az ever, must
be admitted; that general strikes aui
boycotls mean inevitable doioat TO thoio
instltuting them, Is also evident auu
that combined labor unions viii ny a
new plan OF campaign rsems TO be-
clearly indicated IN tho ttcud u cir'
cumstnuees developed by the great
suike Just closet.