The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-07-21
THE LESSONS TAUGHT.

The great strike which began June
&c th is nearing the end, and it is time
to consider the lessons taught. Never
before in the history of the country
has there been such long continued
struggle between capital and labor as
since the time when President Debs of
the Railway Union proclaimed boy
colt against the Pullman company.
The transportation business has been
absolutely paralyzed for weeks. and
the loss to shippers and the railroads
will aggregate millions of dollars. For
a long time all traffic ceased, and there
were no commercial relations between
states. Even the transportation of
United States mails was interfered
with, and the government appeared
powerless to apply a remedy. That
organized labor made such resistance
against the combined efforts of wealthy
corporations fully demonstrates the
fact that in this country the wage
earners, when united, are great and
powerful factor in the commerce as
well as the business of the country.
Viewing the situation now one can
easily discern where the elements were
lacking in the Union not accomplish
ing its object. If the advice of Mr..
Debs had been strictly followed, the
strike would have continued for an in
definite period, and there would have
been no occasion for the president to
have declared martial law and to have
ordered out United States soldiers.
When the first act of violence. was
done in Chicago it was we'll known by
all conslderate people that that would
be death blow to the cause of
labor, and it had the effect to change the
sympathy of many from being exerted
in favor of the employees to the en-
ployers. 1t may have been instIgated
by hirelings in the employ of the rail-
roads to divert public opinion from the
side of the toilers to the necessity of
preserving law and order; and if this
were so, it accomplished the purpose.
The strike may be considered as
ended, and, as usual, labor may be
deemed to have been driven to the
wall; but it must be recollected that
not only the thousands who were en-
gagged in the contest against com bined
capital are as firmly convincedas ever
that their cause was right, but there
are hundreds Of thousands more who
tender them their hearty sympathy
and deplore the unsuccessful ending.
The fight has simply been postponed,
and the next time the plans will be
more carefully laid and the chances of
success much better Railroad corpo-
rations had few friends among the
laboring masses before the strike, and
the number have considerably de-
creased.
From the events of the last few.
weeks the public have become aroused
to the fact that railroads owe them a
duty which must be faithfully per-
formed in all emergencies, and when
strikes require concessions they must
be made for the general good. Labor
must not'be considered the only partJ
TO blame and on whom rests the OBJ
legation of making all sacrifices, while
capital remains disturbed in its iso-
lated supremacy. This matter has be-
come SO urgent that court of arbi-
'ration must be appointed to adjudi-
,a.e the difficulties, and commerce and
will not be allowed to
suffer in the future as they did during
'he present struggle.