The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-03-01
THE WALKING DELEGATES VICIOUS
WORK


~. ,oos. serious embarrassment now
known either 20 manufacturing or 10 Ia
boring men themselves is the walking
DELEGATE. the politician Of labor \ mos.
s,ril,ne instance Of this is now afforded
in Now York city. The American Secu-
rltv Company and the American tract
Society are erecting two large STRUCTURES
ana I'm the course OF the Work the men
onpagcd with the electric appliances lhal
Tho buudines are to have have got INTO
s,.,l with their employers. rnc work
mon engaged with the other parts OF the
milling are entirely content with lheF
,mpIovmcnt and wish to 60 on with lheif
work But TIE walking-dclesate has i'll
,erycpcd and has ordered all men con
cerned i'm erecting the buildings to cease
work until the matter pending between
tho electrical workers and their employ
cr IS adjusted. Was there ever anything
moro unreasonable or more tyrann.cal
than this action? What have the men
who are laying bricks or doing
carpcntcrs work 10 DO with ;hc squapbie
between the electrical workers and tnoir
employ crs? Nothing more than We have
10 do with the quarrel now going or be
tween Cubans and the Spanish Govern
nett The labor unions must abandon
the walking delegate, with his sympa'
thetic strike End violence in strikes, or
they will only continue to do the laborinS
men harm. Nothing is accomplished ia
this life by coercion or violence. Men are
swayod by appeals TO their reason their
iudsmcnt. and their feelings, but never
by force unless it IS the force of the con-
queror in war.
OF an entirely Cognate nature is hill
now pending before Consra8 to create a
commission consisting of the Chairman OF
the Interstate Commerce Commission and
he United states Commissioner Of Labor
TO settle all controversies between rail
road companies that pass from one State
to another and Their employees, and 60
empower the United States courts TO
adopt any award they make and enforce
il as the judgment CT decree Of the court
The railroads themselves are said to ia
vor this bill. If that is true it is Of
course because the railroads are satisfied
that they would always receive justice
from the present chairman of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission and the pre-
sent Commissioner of Labor. But the
railroads should have reflected before
/ thsg gave their appreciation TO this meas
! are That these two Offices are liable to
become filed with their worst enemies.
When this happens, if Il ever does. they
will be very sorry they ever consented TO
| It. Their present consent viii be quoted
against them. and will go long ways
towards constituting an cstoppel against
them.
This whole thing is wrong in principle,
and we shall not be beguled into giving
our consent to a vicious measure of this
sort beclUsc certain railroads have been
badgered and harried into abandoning
their rights. 1t is compulsory arbitration
in effect. and we shall never concede any
such proposition. As soon as that propo-
sition is conceded private property is in
volvcl and the Socialists case is adopted
The bill, strange to say, has passed the
House.
Besides, we have no idea that the courts
would sustain the constitutionality of any
such act 1t would be a strange inter-
pretaucn to put upon a power to regulate
commerce between the States TO say that
it authorized Congress TO provide for
taking the property Of one man and give
il to another simply because the formers
business required him to cross a State
line two or three times a day.