The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-01
CIVIL LIBERTY IS DEAD
DEBS SAYS so IN 4 SPEECH THAT SIZZLES WITH HEAT.

St. Louis, Aug. 31.-The delegates to the convention of labor leaders were | slow in assembling this morning, and | it was nearly an hour after the time set for the meeting before the body was called to order. The delay was due to | the committee on resolutions, which sent word that 1t was not ready to re- port. The committee has been in ses-
 sion almost continuously since 8 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
 l It was 10 o'clock when the committee
 entered the hall. MT. Berger, in pre-
 senting the resolutions, spoke of the
 great task the committee had before l it. He said the report about to be
 submitted was the best the committee do under the circumstances. The plat form as presented concludes as fol- lows: That, whereas, The present strike of
 the coal miners has again demonstrat-
 ed the fact that our so-called liberty is
 not freedom, but is a stupendous sham.
 under which millions are degenerating,
 while hundreds of thousands of men,
 women and children are starving in
 novels and on the public highway. The delegates were eager for work,
 and the afternoon session was set in
 motion promptly at 2 o'clock. After
 considerable talk, in which MT. Wil-
 Hams, St. Louis delegate endeavored
 to have the coming convention held in
 St. Louis, and three or four attempted
 to change the date of the conferences.
 it was decided that the matter should
 remain as introduced in the platform.
 and the next convention will be held in
 Chicago.
 MT. Clemens of Kansas moved that
 the last two resolutions in the platform
 be adopted simultaneously. He favor ! ed their adoption.
 MT. Webster of St. Louis wanted to
 know if these milk and water" reso-
 lutions disposed of the important mat
 ter of government by injunction. If | this is so,' MT. Webster said, "any
 judge could say through an injunction, l Get off the earth; you have no rights
 here!'
 MT. Webster went on at length and gave his views on the injunction mat l ter. He wanted congress to investigate
 this matter.
 I Why" said MT Sovereign, this convention has rejected a proposition looking to this very end. Even If con- l gress did give us the rights we want. the courts of the United States would still have the power of injunction and they could then throttle us. The con-
 vention should inform the world that 1 if this matter is to be tested the miners
 should break all records"
 "The laboring people can vote for
 years and nothing will be accomplish
 ed" shouted MT, Sovereign. Let us hold up the flag and tear down the courts"
 We stand on our dignity and will
 have our liberty from this time on,' he
 said.
 The convention broke into wild cheer
 ing which developed in minute into
 a spontaneous call for MT. Debs, the fa- nous labor leader and avowed head Of | the social democracy of this country, who had not uttered a word since the
 convention opened, but who has not
 missed minute of its proceedings. He
 arose from his seat and came slowly to
 the platform When the cheering ceas- 1 ed Mir. Debs began a speech which was
 interrupted at the end of nearly every
 sentence by cheering and handclapping. l He said:
 | T believe the gravity of the indus 1 trial situation in this country is well
 understood It is quite evident that the
 delegates are cognizent of the fact that | oi, ;c 1oa6 in An1arip1 I have said it before and I say it again for the last time have appealed to the courts | for justice and shall appeal to them no more. The A. R. U. expended $45,OOO l to have the question of civil rights test | ed in the supreme court of the United States, only to be told that We have no rights that capital was bound to re- spect. Shall we appeal to the supreme court again? No. We appeal to this | convention and the country for an up rising of all the common people in every walk of life to beat back the courts and re-entrench the rights of the Amer | ican people. Labor day is near. What 1 shall we do?
 | q predict, my friends, that we will l see the extraordinary spectacle of en- slaved labor rattling it's chains and l dancing to the music. Labor is the | cheapest commodity on Gods earth, and yet there are those who would have | it at a lower price, Only the other day | the united voice of labor was raised against the appointment of MT Pow derly to federal position, and I notice l that he was promptly put into the place, Mingled cheers and hisses.) l All the organized sources of society are against labor, and if labor expects to emandpate itself, labor itself must do it."
 s'The time has not quite come to in
 cite the populace,'' said MT. Debs, shak- ing his fist vehemently. T serve notice
 on the plutocratic element of this coun- try that we are on the eve of another
 meeting in Chicago, which will be at tended by all branches of labor. That convention will take up these same questions and will institute agitation and keep it going until the public con- science and public heart are aroused.
 There will come such an uprising as the world has never seen.
 1 ''I did not come to this convention to exploit social democracy or any other movement There is something greater
 in this movement than any one element can manageable emanofpa.on of la-