The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-07-21
CORRESPONDENCE.

MIR. EDiIOR.-lu your ebIlOIlAl coz
umns, and in the clipping from the
San Francisco Argouaut, IL seems to
me that you have not quite fairly pre-
scented the facts OF the case. You say
Justly that the remedy Is worse than
the disease, when a boycott II declared
by the supreme official of a governing
body not amenable To the laws OF the
country, in order to redress a gIiev-
ance which legislatures and courts re-
fuse To recognize a such. That griev-
ance, as the history of this railroad
trouble shows, is the arbitrary con
duct of Pullman and Huntington, the
magnates who control the vast corpO-
rations of which they stand. at the
head. When the laborers i'm the town
of Pullman were informed that their
wages would be locked one third, it
was just after regular quarterly div
idend OF two per cent had been de-
clared on millions Of watered stock,
and a gift of one hundred thousand
dollars mada To build church in Mr..
PuIlman's birthplace. The laborers
Il
hal built model town, given n public
library, and provided i'll other ways
for the comfort of his operators; but
the maguate owned every lot of land,
every buildiug-eveu the public
streets. II an employee had political
opinions different from his master he
was made fo feel the weight of his
sovereign displeasure.
It is this arbitrary rule of excessive
wealth which is As un- American as is
the system of boycottiug, which you
properly deuounce as illegal aud
extra judicial But il is an uprising
of the people against the greed of
capitalists who have secured the con-
troll of great quasi public corporations,
and who have violated the implied
contract with the people. These RAIL
road companies have received prlvil
eyes of eminent domain III taking pos
session of private property and guar
antics against competition III the mon
Opuly they have of the right OF way
for their cars but this vas for the suffi-
cient rea on that the public good
was best promoted 10y such special
privileges. These vested rights,
however, were never Intended To give
individuals the power 10 make the
public good subservient TO their pri
vate greeds or grudges. Five times
has Mr.. Pullman been requested 10 re-
consider .,i- decision, AMI the request
has every time been refused. He puts
his Individual will against the wishes
of a large body of employees. 1t is
now a contest of wills, As we'll as of
WRONGS and rights. When such diff
cuIties are to- be settl. q, il l. n ques-
ton of strength, and physical violence
is the ultima ratio, the final recOurs-.
The case Is similar with Mr.. Hunt
ington. By some means, 1T may be
by methods that the law cannot
reach as criminal, he has acquired
control of almost the entire system Of
railroad traffic. His avOwed rule of
business procedure Is, MAKE the rate
as high as the traffic Will bear" The
community is compelled TO endure
this extOrtion, and can get no redress
from courts OF law, or the legislatures
that they have nomiually chosen but
that the corporal ous really mauipu-
late Is 1t any wonder that the patience
of the people Is exhausted, and they
have taken matters into their own
hands To- thrash some idea of equity
and forbearauce into the pockets of
these CAPITALISTS who lord it over
their vassaIs with all the imper-
iousness of the late Hawaiian SOW
ereign, who seemed TO interpret the
national motto, "the breath of life in
every
prise is at the disposal of my gracious
will %
To use Mr.. Emmeluth's famous die
tum, this extortiOn has gone about as
far as God and the condition of
things will permit" There has been
an uprising of the people against this
arbitrary rule; no downfall as Yet of
these lords of the LIANT. But this
whole system of the arbitrary des
, potism of wealth is doomed. Some
body must be hurt. But the process
is very much like the experience Of
the Irish bricklayer who fell off from
the staging. Some people VIII" saw
the accident ran to his help. They
found him rather bewildered but
not seriously hurt. ave saw you fall
ing,n said they. ooh, il was not the
falling that hurt me-" was the ready
response of Irish wit, "but the strik-
ing of thu hard ground so unexpected
ly.n Avarice and eXtOrtIOn may hold
sway for time, but finally something
gives way and there is fall and
strike. 1t is not the people that Will
fall down, however, nor will any arm
of the law or military power aVenge
the despite done to arbitrary rule. AS
in the Babylonian furnace, the men
that trust in the rule of Personal
Righteousness rather than bow down
to the Image OF Gold, will come out
unscathe1 from the flames, while the
minions ready to DO the behest of tyr
rannus iniquIty shall perish in the
vain attempt to set aside the eternal
laws of truth ard justice.
ANTI MONOPOLY.