The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-04-28
PROFESSOR ELY.
Upon Strikes, Railroads and Social
ism-Is Government Ownership
Desirable.

Professor Ely, of the Wisconsin Uni
versity, is one of our most advanced and
liberal thinkers upon economic and in
dustrial questions. He is a deep student
and his utterances have not always been
| pleasant TO those who are interested in
leaving things as they are. Upon some
of those questions which are engrossing
the attention of workingmen and others
he writes as follows:
What Go L think about strikes? When
we review industrial history it is scarcely
possible to avoid the conclusion that
strikes have been d necessary evil. They
are a species of warfare. and must be
viewed somewhat in the same light in
which we look at war in general. War
has been a terrible scourge to the human
race, and has brought in its train more
misfortunes, both to victors and van
pushed, than people generally under
stand. AT the same time it has FREQUENT
ly happened that war has been prefer
able to other evils and no historian could
be found who would deny that it has pro-
duced, along with vast wretchedness and
misery, some good results. Not all
strikes have been failures, and il has
happened before this that the firm resist
ance of employees to wrong and oppres-
sion has been productive of results valu-
able alike to themselves and their en-
ployers. An orderly, well-conducted
strike implies labor organizations, and
labor organizations in their earlier period
find their chief activity in industrial war
fare. The older trade union was largely
an organization of men bound together
TO accomplish their purposes by means
of actual strikes or threats of strikes
say largely because other purposes and
very important ones have always been
connected with labor organizations of
any Importance.
But conditions have changed For
merly the trades and occupations of
wage-earners were so distinct and sepa-
rate that those employed in any one craft
need have little reference in their strug-
giles to wage-earners outside of their own
ranks. Machinery has changed all that
and broken down the barriers between
the various occupations of wage-earning
men and women. 1t seems clear.
then, that the very foundation on which
old-fashioned striking trade unions rest
ed has given way. The field OF their
operations seems to be a more restricted
one than has been supposed by those
who have considered merely older condi-
tons. Labor organizations are a neces-
sity, but they should change their
methods to correspond to our present
economic life. making more of other
features than heretofore and less of
strikes.
when we come to certain primary in
situations like railways, telegraphs, gas
works, and the like. upon the continuous
operation of which the general welfare is
dependent in a marked degree, the public
interest is paramount, and public author
ity, If it discharge its fanctions, will not
tolerate strikes. Some way or
another. these peculiarly public industries
must be kept in continuous operation,
and this must be effected while ample
protection is affordea to all interests in
volved. If wrong and injustice are done
TO employees, effective means must be
discovered to remedy them without a
disturbance of domestic peace
These peculiarly public interests are
termed natural monopolies," and while
the proper treatment of these has not
been scientifically determined, yet some
things have been made clear by expert
ence.
Experience in the United States has
demonstrated that there are two-and
only two-ways of dealing with monopo-
lies. We have, in the main, choice
only between private ownership and
operation with control by government
and government ownership and opera
ton. One or the other. our courts and
legislatures have decided we must have;
and their decision has been wise, as it
has been forced on them by hard facts.
Waterworks in our cities very generally
illustrate government ownership and
operation. whereas our railways afford
Illustration of control by government
united with private ownership and Opera
ton Government control simply takes
the place of the regulation by compete