St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-07-09
LIVE AND LET LIVE

The dog-in the-manger policy that
seems to govern the participants in the
pending labor troubles not only does
violence to our nationality, but to every
instinct of manly nature. The strikers
may be unable to work for the corpora
lions they are seeking to destroy, or not
disposed to do so. For whichever rea.
son they refrain from labor it matters
! not. 1t is nobody's business and no.
body cares. But it is the concern of all
| good citizens when these men assume a
| proprietary right in the labor they re-
| fuse to perform, aud declare that no
one shall work if they choose to remain
idle-that the opportunities which in
dustrY presents shall not be improved.
| No one questions the right of man
! to quit his place of employment when
ever he shall choose to do so. That is
his privilege at all times and IN all
| places. To deny him this would be to
| deny him the rights of an American
| citizen. But, after having surrendered
his position as the employee of corpo-
ration or an individual. he has no right
| TO say that his place shall not be filled,
| and that the work he has been accus-
| toned to do shall remain undone. and
that other workers shall not be permit
| ted TO earn livelihood, because of his
| OVID lack of desire to continue to labor
No one has an inalienable right to oc-
cupy any given station in the industrial
world. The mechanic does not own his
situation in fee simple. He simply
holds a leasehold of it. terminable at
| the option of either his employer or
| himself. 1t would be as reasonable in
| tenant to declare that If he was not
| permitted to occupy house no one else
| should live i'll it as for the working men
to claim that they, and they alone, shall
be allowed to fill certain stations. Such
| an attitude is absurd, unreasonable,
| monstrous, and cannot be justified
upon grounds of public policy or com
mon sense.
All men have perfect right to con-
| troll their own labor. If they are not
suited with any given employer they
are privileged 10 tender their services
| to another. If they are dissatisfied with
their occupation they can choose an
other more congenial to their tastes. If
| they are dissatisfied with the wages
they receive, no one will endeavor to
| prevent them from going elsewhere to
places where the wages are higher. If
lie choose to remain in idleness he may
be Indifferent to the opinions of others,
for he has right to waste his life pro-
vided he does not become a public
charge, dependent for support upon the
industry Of others. Our mucll-bOasted
| liberty does not comprehend the right
| Of one man to interfere with the enjoy
ments or occupations OF his neIghbor.
1t simply guarantees to him the right of
doing as he pleases, so long as he re-
mains within the bounds of decency.
Demagogues have sought to foster the
notion that it is the constant endeavor
| of capital to Cypress labor. They talk
wildly of the arrogance and despotism
OF the money power. forgetting that the
most arrogant and despotic power on
earth is that welded 10y the labor lead
ers over the rank and file of that class.
| The professional w0rkingman is a
| shrewd villain. He processes a self
sacrificing devotion to the interest of
his fellows, and secures commission
10 TepTeStHt tueul Ill udltcTS affecting
their material welfare. He is well paid
for his services by the unions, and. in
| nine cases out Of ten. is also receiving
stated allowance from uEprincipled
| employers, who can use him to advan-
| tage. 1t was proved some years ago
that one of the leaders in a national
| labor organization, in receipt of stated
salary as the representative OF his craft.
was paid Il regular stipend by the en-
ployers of his associates on condition
that he should betray their secrets and
so direct matters that any resort to
strike would prove futile. There is good
reason to believe that the man in cues
ton is not the only one whose bread is
buttered or both sides.
Aside from the danger of BETRAYAL,
the workmen are liable to danger from
overstepping tine bounds of the law in
their desire 20 redress real or fancied
grievances. Few of them are versed in
law. No matter how honest a man may
be. he must be good lawyer to avoid
mistakes that may render him subject
to prosecution and bring modification
upon lis associates. That which may
be lawful in one state is not necessarily
so in all. He may follow policy in
Minnesota that will bring with it no
punishment, but by pursuing the same
course in Illinois he would place him.