Omaha daily bee., 1894-12-18


duce poverty.
The tenement system was a crying evil
and an abomnatlon in a civilized community.
He had seen poverty reduced to a meaner
and more unsanitary condition in New York
and Chicago than It ever was in England
This was the gauge that indicated either
political injustice or a lack OF industrial OPP
portunity. In England. as in America. II
was the special function Of trades unionism
TO prevent these evils from growing worse
WHAT UNIONS ARE DOING.
"And now" continued MIR Burns 'I want
to say word to the men who do not belong
to labor unions You men who are getting
$3.50 a day would only be getting 81 had il
not been for the unions that have stepped
in and said to capital Thus far and no
further You must sacrifice the difference
between the 81 so that you get now and the
81 that you would be getting had II not been
for the unions, or you must join them and
contribute towards the common effort There
are people who view the trade union with
suspicion, If not with positive hostility.
Trades unions In the sphere Of labor is no
more than q medium for collective bargain
ing. When they become similar in America
TO the unions in the old country we won't
see capitalistic newspapers abusing the labor
leaders and we won't see these leaders sub
jected TO the blind and unjust criticism
which they too frequently have to bear. The
trades unions and their leaders have come
TO stay. Day by day, week by week, and
year by year. since you had the great Penn
sylvania railroad strike. which was the pre-
cursor Of numerous other strikes throughout
the country, you have seen In America your
leaders yituperated and assailed in way
that is not known in England. What I ask
for my fellow leaders In this country is fair
play Concede them TO be honest until 1t
is shown that they are rogues. Then throw
them out. We do not have the relations
between master and man that we had fifty
years ago. The workingman has become
mechanical automaton to produce wealth for
idle people to enjoy Under the present sys
TIM men do not count, but machines do. The
disposition of wages is to tend to a still
lower level and for machney to be simplifed
so that unskiled workmen can do the same
work that skilled artisans used to do by
hand labor or by complex machinery. The
trades union must stand before unscrupulous
competition to say that barrier shall be
drawn"
1t was contended that under the present
conditions skilled labor did not have the
opportunities to better itself that 1t once
enjoyed. The physical strength and thrift
Of the man failed, as a rule. to overcome
his industrial environments, and even when
an Edison, endowed with exceptional genius,
reached n higher plane, he served capital
more than himself and never got all out OF
his genius that belonged to it.
The speaker referred TO the practice of
Napoleon, who, when his troops were about to
go into battle, assured them that every one
of their knapsacks contained marshafs
baton. After the battle was over it was
sometimes found that there was not a single
baton to reward the devotion Of his followers.
This was a very similar bait to that which
had been held out to the workingmen of
England and of America, and 1t was the mis-
sion Of the trades unions to open their eyes
to its delusiveness. In England the unions
had grown during the past ten years with
vigor and enthusiasm that was most graft
Tying. AT the Denver convention the speaker
had the honor to represent over one and one
half millions of English workingmen and
even that figure did not represent the entire
number. One of the most salutary results
of that convention would be the soldifying
and harmonizing of the unions both of this
country and of England
FUTURE OF STRIKES.
Mr.. Burns discussed the strike question
with considerable earnestness He had been
connected with about fifty strikes, most of
which had been successful. He ventured to
say that in the future the strikes would de-
crease in frequency. but would increase in
the arena that they covered, the number of
men concerned and in the bitterness with
which they would be fought In England
over 100000 men had stood the pangs OF
starvation for sixteen weeks because dozen
or so of the mining kings had said that their
wages should be reduced. These strikes
could not continue in England and in America
without Ufheit tspistances sbcing forced upon
the attention of the voters Of the country
who should say that the cause must be re-
moved. They would see that they
had to choose whether Carnegie on the one
side or Jay Gould on the other should die
tate Industrial depression and eventually
throw the country into a civil war or
whether they should throw down the monopo-
lies and through munic pal and state legisla-
tion remove the evils which made the strike
necessary.
The speaker urged the workmen of Amer
lea to take municipal action, and here there
was room for better organization. Omaha
had the advantage of many other American
I'm hat .nItA
nected with politics But il did not own its
own gas works, water works, electric lights
tramways and other municipal necessities.
The contractor found a happy hunting
ground in the city, and here was the same
spoils system which prevailed more gen
orally in America than in any other country
In the world.
MUNICIPAL REFORM
Mr. Burns said that while he was in Den
yer he had seen an exhibition of the ac-
tivity OF the fire department He asked one
OF the fremen how long they had been in
service, and he said that most of them had
served since the last election. When he
asked them how long they expected to con-
tinue In the department, he assured
that they would sell their uniforms to their
successors on the day succeeding the next
election In talking with an officer about
the. police department. he had remarked
that in England the policemen remained In
the service from twenty-five to twenty eight
years. Governor" remarked the officer,
''if we stayed In twenty months here we
should consider ourselves entitled to a pen
slon." III the people were to respect the po-
lice they must be removed from politics
They must be able to give continuous, faith
frl and ncorruptlble service, and they
should be paid good salaries. Why should
the chief OF fire department be compelled
to discharge competent and experienced fire
men to make room for superannuated buns
who based their claim for the position on
their success in stufflng the ballot box and
similar DDlitipal prDStifutiOn2 hn pit
poets to prevent its officers from being
bought up by the criminal clements 1t
should make II to their interests to be
honest by keeping them in Office as long as
they were faithful to their contract with the
city.
In England 1t had been found that monop-
oily stood better chance OF being throttled
just as the laboring men and the trades
un ons were determined that bbery should
cease and that the who prostituted
his Office to create jobs fer his followers
shall be condsmned to a villainous Cbscurity.
The working men should concentrate their
votes fer men who would work for per-
manent civil service and FIR keeping their
municipal affairs out of the mud Of petty
pol ties.
BEATS PRIVATE CORPORATIONS.
Upon the municipal control of certain in
dustries the speaker dwelt with exceptional
an a.. .aAa L.. 4. ~