New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-07-02
DELIS.

DEBS
There Is probably "no use kicin about IT,
MS the man said when the clergyman was try
Ing 10 reconcile him 10 the death Of his wire,
but It IS a very interesting and not altogether
Inspiring circumstance that Mr.. Eugene Y.
Dcbs-who n few days ago. was no bigger than
a mans hand on the edge Of the incrminable
horizon Of the vast nowhere Just beyond the
Chicago city limits. from which the nobodieS
keep coming up rcdhcadcd and noisy-at this
moment overshadows the entire continent or
all the portcnts that have worried the sooth-
savers from the moment Of Grover ClcvclandS
election until now beginning with the obscura-
ton OF the wcSterng sun by Sylvester Fen
movers lifted ears and continuing through tho
lamentation Of Lcwcng, the warwhoOps OF
Waite and the anarchism OF Altgeld. down TO
the confinement of the cantankcrous Coxey for
not keeping off the grass. Dcbs is the most sud
den and the most bcwlldcrng week ago to-
day. outside the particular labor organization
whose emotions he has been SO diligently churn-
Ing by word Of mouth and printed page Debs
was hardly known. To-day his mOnoSyl1bic
surname IL popping all over the country with
the frequency, the Spltcfulncss. the exaspcrat-
Inc emphasis ard general unpopularty Of the
small boy Of the period. 40 single monosylla-
bic in the whole range Of patronymics over rose
so suddenly from meaningless lnsgncancc 10
such skyroclicy height OF cmblazonry. Not to
know Dcbs. or know about him today. Is 10 be
clustered secluded remote from the hauntS Of
men, separated from the intellectual movement
of the age; ont Of touch with the thought and
progress of the time
For Dcbs stands directly In front OF every
thing. And Dcbs says to everything that Is in
motion anywhere everything upon the move
ment Of which the activity. the health, the hap
plncss. the suStenance, the comfort Of the whole
continent depends stop And to great ey-
tent-to a very alarming extent when anything or
ANYBODY besides DebS IL taken into the acroun'-
It does stop has stopped. Stopped 10 see what
Dcbs is going TO do next Bctwcch Chicago
and the Pacific Coast largo consgnmcnts II
freight bound either way. upon the delivery
of which couslgnors and couSisnecS depend for
the fuhlmcnt II contracts and the transaction
Of business are mt dead siaudst.ll. threaten
Ing loss and failure to merchants and shippers
and misery and distress 10 those dependent
upon them. On nearly all the lines OF iranspor-
tation ccniring ~ Chicago there is The same
condition Of things and II the Dob, domination
continues Il VIII presently prevail ail over he
country. ON passenger trllAs waiting ~ rail
road stations lr california and Oregon, or
stalled on desert plains in Arizona New Mex
leo Colorado or Wyoming. are men aud women
held I'm painful SUSPENSE from waiting friends
perhaps from dying b,d-ilcs. p,wcrlrss 10
move and possibly threatened with starvation
from the exhaustion Of limited supply 81 pro
visions The great city II Chicago is In many
directions cut III from communication with the
adjacent region and H. sources II supply. And
This viii presently bo thc condition IN all the
great cities II DrhS continues dominant.
Naturally The question arises: What * The
matter with Dchs. that he should play Joshua
10 the business 81 the country aud compel
everything t. stand sim How have The mrr
chants ana traders commercial men. frcight"rs
and shippers, farmers AMI manufacturers, pro-
ducers and consumers. offended him. that he
should play such havoc with their interests and
in1ct such cnormous injury upon thcmI What
have the railway passcngcrS done that they
should be- subjected 10 such wanton delays and
brutal treatment? Ana what complaint has
Dcbs to make against the United States Gov
eminent that he should not permit Is malls to
be- tranSpOrtedf The answer 81 Dcbs i That
ear manufacturing company near Chicago has
cut down the wages of iiS employees. and the
employees, unwilling 10 submit 10 the reduction.
have quit work; whcrcupou the company has
stopped manufacturing and closed It's works.
And Dcbs proposes 10 stop all railroad trains
In this country until the company sets It's for
mcr employees az work again NJ the old rates
Of wages II * very doubtful II DcbS himself
has any definite Idea how he can compel the
Pullman Company 10 start up rs works II It
IS not so disposed; and II is very certain uIat
hundreds OF thousands OF citizens who have no
responsibility for the Pullman shut down do not
like 10 be held by the throat by DcbS as part
terms Nor are they any more disposed 10 take
kindly 70 the continental control Of DcbS upon
the other theory, now current that Dobs. hay
Ing just perfected the machinery II his bow
labor union, desires to test II and make an exhi-
bition of his power.
Meantime the logic OF the situation offers only
two alternatives, which must he apparent 10 the
most unrcncctivc and passionate ~ his follow.
crs. If he succeeds in his present purpose we
have no further use for National State or mIi-
nicpal governments The Hallway Union Is
the Government, and Dcbs absolute Dictator.
If he fails-well, then he follows Murln Irons
into loafer's obscurlty, or COxcy into pcni-
Tertiary, and the cause Of organized lnbor
gets another setback NJ The hands Of blatant
dcmagOgucs and ignorant followers
A WAR AGAINST UORkTNGMEN