Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-08-01

plause.) You have become disorgan-
lied. and therefore demoraliZed. The
strike is clearly right, and will prevail,
but II It shall fail through the West
Virginia miners, and after that happens,
and the men are 'scourged back, at star
walton wages. you here will be helpless,
and you will not dare to strike, ana
no one knows that fact better than the
operators The result will be that. you
having worked until the other miners
were defeated; they will work in turn
! until you are defeated. The thing 10
do is to stand together, and see that an
uniform scale is made in each district,
that will do justice to each, and then
all can go back to work in body, ana
YOU will all be earning living wages,
with no more strikes in sight. ZAP
plause.) But as long as the miners OF
one State can be used against the min
ers of another, wages will go down until
the bedrock of degradation is reached.
(Applause.) I do not think we VIII
fail. | am not in the habit OF looking
on the dark side of things. l believe
we are making little progress. CAP
plause.) The most hopeful thing is
that workingmen are beginning to think
and as they think they are wondering
why they must draw their rags little
closer so as not to touch the silks they
have woven, why they must not walk
in the shadow of the palaces they have
built but may not enter. And when
they see these things properly, they
will take their own-not by force nor
by violence. but by the ballot (applause)
which falls lightly as snowflake vet
which works the will Of man as the
lightning does the will Of God. (Ap-
plause.) Labor is the creator Of all
that is useful and beautiful in this
world. and shall not labor come to its
own? Who shall doubt it? AS the
mariner blowing Southern seas turns
his ewes to the Southern cross blazing
in the sky. as a beacon to guide him on
his way, let labor everywhere take
heart of hope, for the cross is bending
and the midnight is passing, and JOY
cometh with the morning.
81 read with pleasure this morning in
the Wheeling Register brief account
of q discourse by Rev. DR.. Bigger, OF
this city. Among other excellent Things
he said that the spirit Of fraternity lies
at the bottom of all religious things.
He might have gone a little farther
aud said that the spirit of fraternity
lies at the bottom of all industrial
things. no matter what the labor may
be. | believe in the brotherhood OF
labor. (Applause.) This world only
respects as it is compelled to respect,
and wOrkingmen can compel respect by
organization. (Applause.) When that
is done let them affiliate together, and
they will find their way to industrial
emancipation. | appeal to the intelli-
gence of workmen. They have not, at
all times. been true to themselves. They
do not always take advantage Of their
chances. They have leisure hours; let
them use them, In this age of cheap
literature Shakespeare says there is no
delusicn but ignorance. Goldsmith
says: Those that think must govern
those that toll That means, that those
who do not think will have to do the
toiing. Good books are cheap! More
books, and less beer! (Applause.) l
have tried both. (Laughter) Get
good book. If you are of limited men,
tai capacity, get primer. (Laughter.)
And when you go to your homes trans
fer a little Of its contents to your
brains. (Applause) II may not be
convenient at first, but stick to it. 1t
is the beginning of the road that leads
to industrial freedom. An ignorant
wage-earned cuts no more figure
than though he lived on an
other planet Reformers don't
come from the upper classes. They are
not from among the dudes and drones.
(Applause.) The upper classes are not
reformers-except in the sense that Ar
temus Ward tells about. He said he
was in favor of putting down the rebel
lion, even it took the last of his wifes
relatives CLaughter) Do you want to
be free? Then organize, think, read,
study. Unite, and be free men; or re-
main disorganized, a body Of helpless
slaves Take your choice.
Don't read trashy books. Yellow
backed literature is mental poison.
(Applause.) Read good books. If you
can't read, get your wife and fellow
men to help you, and want to say to
those who can read: You must help
those who can't, or they will lower you.
(Applause) If the majority OF labor
is ignorant, the rule will be ignorant,
and you will have to live under that
rule. Aid yourselves. and do what you
can for your fellow-men.
There ought to be little library in
every workingmans home. Do
the best you can for yourselves, and
then stand side by side with your fell
low-men. Join an organization, and
stand side by side with your fellow
workipgmen. There has been too much
self-preservation in the world. Ex
tend a helping hand to others, for you
cannot help others without helping
yourself.
ooh. this is a sad word. 1t is filed
with impOverishment and misery. You
cannot go into any community without
seeing the tramp. He is the most de-
plorable thing in our civilization. i
sympathize with him for two reasons.
First, l know how the average tramp
IS made; and if this country is to con-
tinue TO be under the domination OF
trusts, ! may be one myself, laugh
teri The New York Tribune, not
long ago, said, in effect, that the trouble
was not to get men TO work, but to
make men work. The inference and
meaning was that there was work, but
men would not do it. l brand that ar
ticle as an infamous lie. (ApplauseO
The man who psnned that has neither
brains nor heart. In twenty-four hours
1 can assemble on the Lake Front OF
Chicago fifty thousand men anxious to
work at any wages. Am | right, Broth
or paa9 mfr Rea-MOre than that
suppose; probably one hundred and
fifty thousand.) 1 make the conserva-
tive statement Last winter the Mayor