The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-07-09
LABOR'S ANSWER
TO TIE SERMON PREACHED BY
- MONSIGNOR THORPE
At Cleveland Last Sunday, mt the
Funeral of n Dead striker-The Ex.
ecutive Committee of the strik-
ers Takes Issue.


ecutive Committee of the strik-
ers Takes Issue.
The locked-out men in Cleveland talked
Of little else Monday but Mgr. Thorpe's
sermon portion of which was reproduced
In acknowledgements In language about
as strong as could be found the sermon
was condemned by the men. Particular
attention was paid to the advice Of the
monsignor to the men to &C to Mr.. Brown
as individuals. This they said was the
point for which all the sacrifice has been
made and they considered It the equiv
alent of decision that they are wrong.
To stop all talk the executive board
thought 1t would be the wisest plan to
give the papers an official reply to the
monsignor's sermon. This was prepared
and handed to the press before noon. 1t
was as follows:
Rev. L. p. Thorpe-Dear Sir: With
out mincing words and in language quite
as plain as we can command we wish to
inform you that we consider your sermon
upon the occasion Of our brothers funeral
an insult to the intelligence of every
union man in the city. In the brief time
occupied you displayed more ignorance of
the labor question than it has ever before
been our lot to hear. Had Mr. Brown
preached the sermon it could have been
no more favorable to his cause nor more
prejudicial to us. Your tender solicitude
for the scabs and their suffering families
has indeed moved our hearts. Your ad-
vice to us to go back as individuals was
entirely uncalled for and since this is the
vital point in the controversy your taking
stand against us was to say the least
very bad taste.
In one breath you say we have q right
to band together, and in the next you ad-
wise us to go to Mr. Brown as individuals.
You claim that the men in labor organ
izations don't do their own thinking, and
the Inference that the soabs do, and that
they have more independence and man
hood, is too ridiculous to be made the sub
ject of a controversy If you will stand
on the street and look at some of these
manly Case school students, about whose
wives and children you are so solicitous,
you may possibly be induced to devote
some time to the study of this burning
question, about which you profess to know
so much, and In reality about which you
know so little.
American labor is the most dignifled
on earth How nice it sounds We
might expect such an Etterance from you,
who SO gladly follows in the footsteps Of
Mckinley, the hypocrite, and Mark
Hanna, the labor crusher. or course you
are opposed to the preaching of the men
who come from the slums of Europe,
where men are not men,. Who is respon-
sible for these slumsP What has your
church and the other churches done to
remove the slumsp You have preached to
these poor victims of the sweaJshop and
factory, Be content with your lot ALI
this time you have managed to live In
ease and comfort and revel In the high
sounding title of monsignor. How many
titles did the Carpenter of Nazareth have?
Your proposition to give some corporation
lawyers fat snap in tribunal of arbi-
tration at $40, 900 year is too absurd for
comment. Like your other statements
1t indicates how little you know about,
and how much you have to learn, on this
vital question.
"In conclusion we would suggest that
you call on the Browns and accept con-
gratulations since we learn that your
effort is very acceptable to them and the
other labor crushers.
"Yours truly,
Executive Committee
Locked Out Employees Brown Hosting
81 Conveying Machine Co.