The herald., 1896-09-08
Il STURDY SONS OF Toll
~ ,f1Jl 1875 Sfsrs
Continued from Page Five.

Continued from Page Five.
usakll,to strain both body and mind. Uni
xeeuAl acquiescence In enactments OF
thts sort Indicates the advancement tha I
Has been made The general exertion now
manifested to penetrate the city sweat
shops and to save children, whose ten
der years appeal to us all,from prema-
ture decay and death. and the whole
some work proceeding hour by hour at
the dictation of philanthrophists gives
promise Of better things. The gradual
ana stable elevation Of labor carries
With 1t responsibility which you all
must meet. As you possess power, the
obligation of using it properly, wisely
and patriotically will be thoughtfully
appreciated. Your children grow up
eide by side with those whose parents
follow other avocations, and are either
leading in the race or are tagging be-
hind. according as they are fitted to
command or follow. Those employments
considered the most advanced. those sit
uations deemed the most desirable are
opeu to ALL The controlling element in
&6eir, acquisition. is persistent merit,
which Involves industry, ability and in
tegrity The occasional success of some
who do not enjoy these qualifications
II no Indication thai any other rule pre-
walls. Such experience is transitory,
eyanescent. It is obviously exceptional.
One Of the highest privileges you hold
d. the elective franchise. Upon its ex-
orcise by you must depend to a great
extent the consummation of the most
important reforms. Wealth, entrenched
bohind walls erected by unscrupulous
power, guarded by all the cunning re-
sources of trusts and monopolies, can
never be dislodged without your CO.
~ Tod fsl fy~i-
umph without your ultimate discom-
fort and degradation.
The assurances Of those who have been
able to appropriate far more than their
share of this worlds goods that they Will
treat you kindly is of no more avail than
the assurance Of the slave holder to those
whom he holds in bondage. The exist
that every American citizen is his own
master and responsible as q free agent
for his behaviour must always be kept
In View. There are times when 1t is hard
for one who depends on another for his
livelihood, and whose wife and children
appeal to him d!0ly at the family hearth
stone, to disregard the wishes of his
principal; and thus 1t comes to pass that
great manufacturing establishments,
individuals employing extensively, have
Influenced and still seek to influence and
control and even direct by promises and
threats. sometimes expressed and some
times implied, the votes Of those under
them. The wise legislation displayed in
the passage of the Australian ballot law.
which now obtains in most of the states
Of the union, and kindred enactments,
such as the purity of election law,
which prevails here and in many other
states, tends largely to cure this evil.
The former makes it possible for the
voter to indicate his choice independ-
emily. surrounded by all that secrecy
which the eHigencies of his case de-
mands: the latter Furnishes those who
intimidate, or by thereats or promises
unduly influence the man, whose neces-
stiles constantly tempt him to sacrifice
his freedoms If an ,unscrupulous en-
ployer. taking advantage of the situa-
tion Of his ;emp]oye, a coWpels him to
promise support to this candidate or
to that one, this promise is, on princi-
pie. of no more validity than that ex
no attempted testamentary disposition,
could stand in the face Of evidence indi
eating such coercion. and therefore the
emplOye must always feel at liberty, re-
gardless of the dealing he has had with
his employer, to vote in accordance with
his judgment, conscientiously formed.
The corrective influence of the legisla-
tion to which l have adverted, will tend
to lessen this evil and the conviction and
rigorous punishment of few of those
who thus uniawfully trifle with the
rights Of their countrymen will tend to
make this species of tyranny as imprac-
ticable as 1t is disreputable. The labor
er's rights are being daily recognized
more and more. His condition must con-
tinue to advance, If while maintaining
With vigor and positiveness those posi-
00ns which he knows to be justified, he
IL also conservative, and does not forget
that others too, are entitled to be heard
"a a. al Mt ,f hi 1Arr,
upon the successful solution of which
depends not only the happiness of one
class but the welfare of all. The losses
ohtailed upon a community by troubles
which lead to strike2 and deprivation of
work Of large number of men are i'm
mense, and as worldwide as civilization.
Singular though 1t may seem, these
conflicts are the attendant of that rev.
olutfonary process by which labor is as
cending to its proper plane. Like all
great changes, whether peaceful or not.
much harm will be done before the end
IL reached. The enormous monetary out
lay and personal suffering which we
have upon numerous occasions OBJ
served in our own country finds some
parellel abroad. In the last bulletin of
the Department of Labor we find that
in 1895 there were 405 strikes in France,
involving 1898 establishments, in which
4t81 workingmen participated as
strikers, resulting in a loss of GIT ,469
days of labor. In 1894 the loss in days
labor was perhaps 40 per cent greater
than in 1895. The same authority esti-
mates the strikes in England in 1894 at
997, involving loss in employment of
324,245 persons. The great coal strike
in England In 1893 Involved not less than
100000 people, BY degrees, equitably
conducted arbitration, the submission
of disputes to Impartial persons, and
the still stronger and more reliable rem
edy, to-wit, careful and painstaking in
veStigation before participating quar-
rel, gives hope that but few more diff
ferences of this nature will be inflicted
Upon any community. That which en-
tails loss of property or the non-pay-
ment of wages must be injurious to the
state, as 1t is certainly detrimental to
social conditions and personal happi-
ness.
1t Is a consolation to reflect that in
all parts Of the earth where Christianity
prevails and the differences between
right and wrong are fully conceded, the
demands of labor for honest deal
ing are not heard in vain. Indeed, it is
safe to say that wherever these privil-
eges are most fully enjoyed and most
faithfully defended the highest types of
enlightenment prevail and the best
methods of rule dominate undisturbed
As the world moves forward, so will
matters become adjusted that legiti-
mate causes for complaint will be fewer,
and in the harmony thus produced will
be found that felicity which cannot be
enjoyed in the absence of justice. From