The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-03
THE AMERICAN RAILWAY Union.
The Efforts Being Made 60 Establish
IL in This Part Of the south

M the American Railway Union. and
number Of his agents, have been travelling
through the south making an earnest e.
fort 10 obtain for the American Railway
. I Mon a fo0thold among tue laporlng peo-
pie OF this section 1 an Wase-eaIher.
and take great interest IN any ana All
. Efforts MADE 10 advance the legitimate
interests OF labor. There can be no Cd
lection to organization TOT the purpose
81 promoting any righteous cause or any
.arise- the purpose of which Is 10 pro-
mote the welfare OF man ana dIneioId ale
-he condition OF labor. 1 nave Waleheo
with interest all that has been salu IN
favor not only OF the American tsdilMdy
Union but all other labor organizations.
Ny deliberate opinion is that the Ameri-
can Railway Union is an ORGANIZATION
gotten up especially Tor the Denent OF 4tr.
Debs and a few OF his IaNorltes, VINO
draw large salaries from the honest Dut
deluded laborerS Of the country ana VINO
give in return for the salaries so PAID
nothing except Improbable agitation. No
mans bread or house rent is made cheap
er. no mans lot is made easier, no mans
+. wages are advanced as a result of MEN,
bership in the A. r. L.
Debs and his allies create much I'M
necessary and imaginary dissatisfaction
among those who listen 10 their appeal,
but beyond this no results are accom-
plished. My observation is that railway
labor in this country, and especially in the
south where the conditions OF lie are
easier, is the best paid labor, not only IN
the United States, but in the world. The
average earnings Of the farm laDOrer III
The southern states, and this includes
both races is not above an average OF
ten dollars per month. Agricultural Ia
Dor, as a rule, works from sun rise 10
sunset and this, too, for the small wages
above stated.
When Mr.. Debs was in Jacksonville and
made his speech there few months ago,
it seemed to be distressing fact TO hlm'
and a fact it was, that the porters on Pull
mans palace cars only received about 81
per month. Whether this was true or not
true, his appeal did not awaken any re-
sponsive chord in the breasts of honest
laboring men who know that the porters
on Pullmans palace cars perform KIND
Of kid glove service.
The great mass of railway employees
would, as matter of course, like TO have
their scale of wages increased, but this
large body of honest toilers are sensible
enough to know that while railway EN-
ployes are making fair wages and a com
Portable living, railway stockholders nave
not only been going without any income
from their investments, but in many in
stances these stockholders have had their
property swept from them.
Any organiza ton which undertakes to
control the business of others has always
in. this country proven failure, and al
ways will Whenever labor organiza-
tion composed of wage earners who are
fairly well paid, undertakes to wrench
property from the hands of its owners,
and to run it to suit themselves, nothing
but grteVOus failure can come.
Personally, / do not know Mr.. Debs, but
in the light of his history, it seems to me
that.wage earners in the south will be very
slow TO follow his lead. We all remember
the disastrous Pullman strike which was
1naugurated by Debs, and which, under
his leadership, involved thousands and
tens of thousands of wage earners who
had no complaint or grievance against
their employers. We all know how thous-
ands of men, women and children were
induced to quit work on railroads through
out the west, simply because Debs wanted
them TO do so as a means Of compelling
the Pullman Palace Car Company to COM
ply with the demands of the employees of
that company. Men who have families
to care for and children to educate, and
who are receiving satisfactory wages from
Debs.
Capital is just as dependent upon la
Dor as labor is upon capital, and the true
policy of each is to act in harmony with
the other. Organized capital is always
the favorite target of the demagogue and
communist and anarchist, and it is not
difficult for the oily tongue of faisehood
to magnify mere trifles into great out
RACES when preaching to the ignorant and
the uniformed.
Any labor organization, whose officers
can inculcate into its members the crime
of hypocrisy and the crime of lying, is
infinitely beneath the notice of that hon
est laborer who desires to fulfill the mis-
sion of full grown man.
me honest toiler, educated in the prin-
GpleS OF truth and honor, loving his God
his country and his family, and knowing
that truth and honesty are the founda-
lions of everything which is noble and
which 1SIlS. Is permanent, would spqEn an or
ganization whose officers would under
take to teach them that it was Virtuous
to lie and to deceive
Any organization having an officer who
could write such letter as the following
should be not only spurned and spit upon
by the honest laborer but its members
should not be recognized as respectable
by the upright wage Garner. Suppose an
officer of a labor organization should write
TO some little remote subordinate officer
such letter as this:
Your favor of the 10th inst. is at hand.
ana note that the officials are beginning
"a campaign of persecution among you.
ms is the hour in which you are put to
the supreme test. Your membership will
nave an opportunity to demonstrate
Whether 1t is made up of earnest veterans
or sunshine patriots. In other words, men
OF towards, freemen or subservent crea-
lures; Workmen or slaves. 1 beg to invite
3our attention to a letter written by
Brother -- on the --, which ad-
dressed to President - in which he
urged more active policy or your union
Inc TACT is that there have yeen but two
members admitted since the - of last
- what can you expect to do for
yourselves under such sloven policy?
ou nave a total membership of eighteen.
ana third of them are delinquent in their
-" tdA' w ny SuOulQ not the company
Pelsecute you or even annihilate you?
gu are simply offering no resistance.
lou are taking the corporation medicine
exactly as it is administered. You have
nolhlng TO say about it, nor can YOU ever
tope TO have a word except every mem
yer OF your union takes an interest in his
own H welfare sufficient to bring every pos
sIule pressure to bear to bring every rail-
Lodu man under your banner, where YOU
cam stand one for all and all for one.
:, ms action on the pat of the company
- purely intimidation. The officials know
perIectlX we'll that if the men unity thew
are masters of the situation. Of course
sney VIII do everything on earth to keen
g '3I divided, and not only that, but thew
WIZ wiz throw bone of contention among
you, II possible, just to see YOU fighf
q5Inong yourselves and annihilate every
s9IIght prospect that there is
ara ,,o,- Letter conditions. They
- AZ making a shrewd play just now to
QIsTupt you. Are you going to allow them
20 40 ltE You need not if YOU don't want
10 TO- t. Inc fact is that the whole matter
y IN your hands. Not in the company.
as you imagine. Now, then let me make
d sugges tion TO you. Make a board of
oo1trol OF your president, vice president
ana secretary. Allow them to act upon