The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1894-08-01
Rev. Johnson's Response.
Continued from 5Lh pdqe.

had laboring men clung to the princi-
Piles at first advocated by the Knights
OF Labor, they would have Jared much
better to-day. But, alasl they have de-
parted from the very best of those
principles, and the majority of them
have ignored the excellent advice of
their former leader, Mr.. Powderly.
Yes Labor should be we'll organized;
but to accomplish anything 1t must act
in harmony with the laws of God and
the land; it must keep cool head, and
not flash up like ignited powder every
time things do not exactly suit it, it
should know the truth or reason OF
whatever It approves or condemns; il
should not be carried away by excited
or unwise leaders; II should not confine
its reading to papers that give one side
of the labor question only, for these are
usually intended to inAame the anger of
the working man. AS an illustration
of what may unintentionally end in mis-
representation in newspaper giving
one side Of question, we have the lit
tie item OF statistics given in your reso-
lutions. The laboring man who looks at
that will think himself poorly paid for
contributing so much wealth to his coun-
try; then he becomes angry and is willing
to go out on a strike. Why does some
one not tell the plain truth Of the mat
ter, that part OF that $1,000 went to
the working man in the increased value
of the ground upon which he built his
house: and another part Of IL became
common public property. And why not
tell something about the class of labor
that was counted in TO bring the aver
age wages down to s1.23. do feel that
the laborer is often most shamefully
oppressed in his wages, but at the same
time I honestly believe he makes his
case appear worse than it really is. |
hope the time is near at hand when
men will receive better wages for their
hard, honest toll, but beg of you to be
more patient until we can discover a
way to regulate these matters. 1t is no
easy work to solve these problems of
labor. am sorry to see Capital and
Labor in an open war against each
other, for Capital is a necessary thing
and so is Labor. They are as man and
wife and should live peacefully together.
While many men of wealth have dealt
unfairly with the laborer yet all are
not unfair. | am familiar with one
company employing about one thousand
men, that often sacrifices money to pro-
tect and assist its employees. A few
years ago I was familiarly acquainted
with gentleman who gave his life for
one of his most troublesome employees;
and / know of others to-day, who say
they would be glad to do better by their
men II they only dared to do so. One Of
these said in my hearing that he could
not yield to the demands OF his men, for
II they got one thing they would de-
mand so many more that they would
either put him crazy or bankrupt him.
This, brethren, is one of your mistakes.
II you can only inspire Capital with
confidence in you it will be great gain
to your cause. Here is the way to do IL:
l once joined gang Of carpenters, and
the contractor with whom | was en-
|
with his men that he became very
severe and stern with everybody. l
came in contact with him frequently,
but was always obedient and respectful.
He seemed, though, TO think that l
thought little too much Of myself and
began humiliating me, lest l should
prove to be another troublesome en-
ployee. / refused to be humiliated in
the least, and told my employer that he
must treat me as gentleman for that
was what was trying to be. / assured
him that my work would be done with
the utmost care and speed, and that i
would be reliable in every way. My
employer replied, "If l could believe
you would do more than you ask, but
my men have all disappointed me-" He
did do more than / asked, and treated
me as friend. He often remarked
afterwards, that II he could have conf
dence in men he would be glad to treat
them better. Make your employers
believe that they can put confidence in
you, and it will doumore good than a
strike.
Now here is another matter for you
to think over: How are we to help you
unless you help yourselves. In and
around Reynoldsville are numerous no.
BILE Christian laborers who are trying
hard to lead correct lives and bring W
their families in honor. Now why does
not your organization, II it is interested
, in its own welfare, throw some protec
tion around its own members. Yor
owe an apology to God and man for the
awful profanity that goes on unreproved
about these mines. Who will answer
for the ruined hearts and lives of the
boys taken to the mines? Again, my
brethren, il you are interested in YOU
own welfare, would like to know what
, you are as an organization, or as indi
viduals doing with reference to Godi
Holy Sabbath. Some of your number
are as true as steel and pure as gold.
know both Catholics and Protestant
, among your number whom l admire
with all my heart for their zeal in serv
ing God, and their respect for His Sab
bath. But where are the rest Of you
There are free seats in all our churches
! and you have great deal more suppor
. to give, than you have to withdraw.
, am glad to the very bottom Of my hear
that one sermon has shaken up thi
3 whole community, even though tn,
= | praachar did uat criticiaad 7 am Ula,