Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1897-08-13
SHOULD Be ENCOURAGED.
The Philadelphia American Sizes up the
Situation Among the Miners Who
are Struggling for their Rights.

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are Struggling for their Rights.
A more impressive labor struggle than
that in which our bituminous coal miners
are now engaged was never waged. The
earnestness and determination which the
miners have thrown into the struggle,
their patience and self-control under
most trying circumstances, compels ao-
mlration. No resort to violence, no
transgression of the law, has so tar
marred the contest OF the strikers or
detracted from the strength Of their cause.
Yet they have been put to a trying
ordeal; efforts have not been wanting to
excite their passions and drive them TO
acts of lawlessness; their patience has
been sorely tested. The strong arm OF
the law has been called into reQulsltlon
against them, though they have not
transgressed the law; the right to assem-
BILE for council has been denied them and
their meetings have been broken up,
though those who have met for council
have, in assem- bling, trespsssed on no
mans rights or property. lnJunctlons
have been issued by the courts against
the miners leaders, prohibiting them
from leading companies Of the strikers
along the public highways to places OF
public meeting convenient to those mines
that are still ia operation. places chosen
with a view of influencing those miners
who are still at work to come out on
strike. Yet it is certainly the right OF
the strikers to argue and plead with their
fellows at work to come out and Join
them, make the strike complete, and
thus assure success. And in fulflllment
of this right the strikers have certainly a
right to peacefully march to those mines
that are IN operation and plead with the
miners before they 60 to their work, and
after they leave their work, to aid them
in their struggle But this right has
teen denied to the strikers; they have been
denied the free use of the public high
ways, denied the right to approach the
working miners. so that they might
reason with them and plead with them
to stop work.
True the strikers have exercised these
rights, for their leaders have given no
heed to the injunctions served upon
them restraining them from abetting the
strikers in the exercise Of these rights.
They have ignored these unwarranted
njunctlons. though in so doing they
have made themselves guilty of contempt
of court, they have welcomed arrest
rather than draw back from what they
have seen to be their duty. So it is that
we have seen leaders of the strike arrest
ed when peacefully marching at the
head of marching strikers, strikers whom
they were leading to places where they
might influence the working miners, not
by violence, which they have not threat
ened, but by reason and example to
throw down their tools and join the
strike 1t has been trying ordeal to
the strikers to have their leaders taken
from them, bus ever deprecatlng violence
they have made no resistance, while
their leaders, counseling patience, have
submitted to arrest, not for crime, not
for the transgresson of any statute, but
for the exercise of rights which the
courts have prohibited them from exer.
cislng. CT course. the leaders thus ar
rested have at once been bailed out and
reioined the ranks of the strikers, leaving
the questions Of contempt of court to be
later passed upon as an aftermath of the
strike.
But 1t is not only the leading of men
to public meetings that has been made
illegal. The right Of free speech, the
right of the strike leaders to address
meetings of strikers has been made
crime. We have seen the sheriff of
Allegheny county order the breaking up
of miners meeting, silence the strike
leaders, silence them not for melting to
riot and violence, for they were not. but
for counseling temperance, patience. self
control and peace. And to the orders of
the sheriff. however previously unjust,
the strike leaders and the strikers have
peacefully submitted. They have shown
commendabe forbearance.
1t cannot be denied however, that
such acls, such marshallings Of the
strong arm of government on the side Of
the operators and against the miners.
tend to exhaust the patience Of strikers
and goad them on to acts of violence.
And 1t is just this violence against their
property and their miners, violence that
they do so much to incte by moving for
unwarrantable injunctlons against the
strike leaders, that the operators would
welcome. Resorts to violence, violence
into which strikers have been goaded by
employers, destruction of property to
which strikers have been impelled by the
very owners OF the property destroyed.
have caused the discomfort and defeat OF
strikers in many a contest. 1t is bv ex.
citing to violence that corporate power