Birmingham state herald., 1896-03-03

in the past who can tell how soon it will precipitate a revolution that will shake this republic from center to circumfer- ence? And who knows but that the Gib- bon is among us that will chronicle our decline and fall? God forbidl I am glad there are so many ladies who have hon. ored our brother by their presence this evening, for whenever the ladies of our southland lend their presence you may rest assured that the cause is well nigh right. Never can we who wore the gray forget how they followed us in '61 with their prayers and tears to the field of car nage and welcomed us home in '65 with their smiles and benedictions. We some times think that if in the great beyond there are robes less Spotless or crowns that shine with more luster. than others they are reserved for the women of our southland. We sometimes boast of the chiValry of our manhood and claim that our yeomanry is as sturdy as the majes- tlc oak and pine that deck the crest of our mountains, but there's none to dispute that our womanhood is as pure as the waters that bubble and sparkle from the 1nnumerable springs at it's base.
 As the Confederate soldier turned to the great captain and idol of the south-the immortal Lee-with that confidence born or love, trusting implicitly in his leader ship, so will the wage earners trust with the same confidence in the leadership of our distinguished brother; as the ones leadership was matchless in war so will the others be in peace, and I vouchsafe that our brother will be as true to every trust as the needle to the pole.
 now take pleasure in introducing Flu gene V. Debs
 As the distinguished visitor arose cheer upon cheer rang through the building.
 A Love Tribute.
 Before MT. Debs could even acknowl- edge the hearty greeting a charming young Ia Miss TI11io rx.,itb Ia ful movements stepped to the footlights, and, facing the orator of the evening" said: iMr.. Debs, on behalf of the men whose masters forbid them to come to this meeting zon behalf of the men who were blacklisted and who are roaming oyer this country seeking work, and whose children are crying for bread, and on be- half of the women and children of Pull man, l beg you to accept this basket of flowers"
 Amid deafening applause the young lady presented Mir. Debs with a basket of beautiful flowers.
 Orator of the Evening.
 MT. Debs when quiet was restored, be- gan his speech, which was, in substance, as follows:
 Ladies and Gentlemen: I desire to thank you for this hearty greeting; also the fair young lady for the basket of beautiful flowers from the wage-earners of Alabama.
 We have met to discuss the subject of. wage-earners. The standardization of wealth in the United States during the past half century is unparalleled in the history of the world We have long since passed the point where Goldsmith said: ''Ill fares the land to hastening ills prey, Where wealth accumulates and men de-
 cay"
 We realize the condition whereof Burns speaks as follows:
 "Let wonder poor, o'erburdened wight
 So abject, mean and vile. Who begs brother of the earth
 To give him leave to toil.' I am not unmindful of the fact that there are many people who are opposed to the wage-earnerS. I make no alluSion to individual employers, but to the great corporations. WOrkingmen are com pelled to unite or be ground to death un- der the wheels of monopolistic machin- cry
 I admit as a general proposition that strikes are a calamity; but on account of the great and overpowering greed of cor porations 1 admit that sometimes a strike is needed. There is not a star in the flag of this great union but represents strike.
 The First American Strike.
 At Lexington the first American strike originated. There the first shot was fired which reverberated around the world, and but for the strike of our great grand fathers we would now be subjects of Great Britain.
 George Washington during his day was called a demagogue, but in our day he is a demi-god. There were tories, who wanted peace at any price, even at the price of their liberty and manhood. Washington said 'If we've got to have war to establish our manhood and liber- ty. let's have it now so our children and children's children may enjoy the blessS iugs of peace"
 I have great hopes for the working men of this country. For the first time they are now beginning to think for themselves. Why Is it that they must walk warily in the shadows of the mighty palaces which they have built by the sweat of their brows? The time will come when they will take their rightS, not by violence, but peaceably, united and by the ballot. They know that here labor is the prophet. It is labor that hoists the iron ore out of the bowels of the earth and converts it into mer- chantable plate and rails. It Is labor that changes the mighty forests into beautiful villas and churches. Labor all so opens the doors of the earth and brings forth the vast stores of coal, gold and silver. Let labor everywhere take heart and hope, The beautiful cross which adorns the southern skies points to a glorious future
 Corrupt Judges. One stigma on the American people is the fact that even the judicial service is not without corruption. Senator Vest the other day in the hall of the United States senate said the august United States supreme court was susceptible to corruption. IL rendered decision in the income tax law. declaring it unconstitu- tional. The law placed burden upon the shoulders of the millionaries and mo- nopolies. Had that burden, the senator said, been placed on the masses, there would have been no question made of constitutionality. The speaker then read from the minority reports of Jus- tices Brown and White on the income tax, in which these justices upbraid their fellows on the stand taken by them. Strikes.
 The people have reached point where reaction must set in. You remember the great Pullman strike. A strike Is not popular with some people. If a strike hurts Birmingham merchant he planes the strikers He does not look into the cause leading up to the strike. strike means enforced idleness. It takes a brave man to face enforced idleness. The birds of the air and tie beasts of the field hax,a hou,pa br,t fhX oan If man 1xpnWc