The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-12-21

urged the men not to precipitate a
strike he was listened to with respectful
attention, but could not change the de-
termination of the men, the strike was
ordered and carried into effect.
The demands of the employees of the
Traction Company are not unjust.
They ask only that ten consecutive
hours shall constitute days work,
with half an hour off for meals; that
two dollars shall be the wages for such
days work; and that men shall not
be discharged for being members of the
Amalgamated Association of Street
Railway Employees. Since These de-
mands are SO reasonable it is not sur
prising that the sympathies of the good
people of Philadelphia are with the
men and against the Traction COM
pany. Ten hours is certainly long
enough for a. days work; two dollars.
when the kind of work is considered,
is but a moderate wage; and no one
can deny but what the working men
on the street railway lines have just
as much right to combine into a labor
union for the preservation of their in
terests as the several street-railway
companies have to combine to further
their interests
And yet we can but think that the
employees of the Traction Company
would have done better had they fol-
lowed the advice of Ex-Governor Patti
son and not precipitated a strike. We
think so for the reason that no sooner
do men strike than the corporations
import men from a distance to take
the places made vacant. and unfor-
tunately such is the state of the labor
nlarket-so much does the supply eX-
coed the demand-that corporations do
not find it difficult to employ men al
most at their own prices. A large
body of men suddenly thrown out of
employment congregate together and
are easily excited 1t is maddening to
them to see their places filled by
strangers imported from a distance and
it would be a miracle if some overt
act of violence, some disturbance of
the peace or other violation of law did
not follow. No sooner is this done than
the striking workrnen are brought in
conflict with the officers of the law,
for the law must be maintained. the
public peace preserved, and this seems
to throw all the machinery of the gov
eminent on the side of corporations
on the side of capital and against labor.
Not only so, but violations of the law
by striking workmen alienates from
them that public sympathy which,
where their cause is just, so readily
goes out to them; but it should be re-
membered that in America the people
have made the law their sovereign,
that it takes the place of king and
court with them, and no sooner is there
violation of it than they fly to it's sup
port. 1t is the very great probability
that there will be violation of the law,
disturbance of the peace. that makes
strikes so liable to be disastrous to the
cause of the working men. 1t matters
not that the Unions counsel modera-
ton, enjoin temperance and discount
tenance violence. The elements within
their ranks are difficult to control. In
this strike in Philadelphia President
Mahon, OF the Union, in a long and
earnest address, warned the men
against all acts of violence. and urged
them to keep away from the rum
shops, but already, though the strike
is but three or four days old, there
have been such acts of lawlessness as
to begin to turn public sentiment away
from the cause of labor.
We are far from saying to workmen
that there are no circumstances that
would justify a strike, just as we
are far from believing that there are
no circumstances that justify war; but
truly we are of opinion that a strike
should be the very last resort of labor
organizations to secure recognition of
the rights of labor; and very generally,
we believe, more could be accomplished
without the strike than with it.