The Advocate and news., 1898-10-26

Al THE WAGE GARNER E.
ISSS a1IS SSE1 ISS1d9 I9I1l9 I


breakers and morally and Criminally re-
sponsble for the bloOdshed and disgrace
to our State, and further charge every
man In their employ, as such detective
or guard in the stockade or on the train,
who participated in this fiendish outrage,
as guilty of murder who should and,
believe, will be indicted by the grand
Jury Of Macoupin county and tried for
murder
ITO illustrate the cold-blooded avarlCe
Of this company 1t is only necessary to
say that last evening, while the dead lay
in Virden and the wounded suffering
with pain and anguish, the officers Of
the company attempted to run in a por-
tlon of these imported laborers by the
Alton train, taking advantage Of the
fact that the national guard has dis
armed and dispersed the miners from
the neighborhood, and tried to run them
into the stockade, Notwithstanding the
fact that they knew l had given orders
to Captain Craig, commanding, not to
allow them to do So
Captain Craig promptly prevented
them from disembarking from the train
their cargo Of imported labor, and In do
ing so obeyed orders like good soldier
However a little later in the evening"
| understand, detachment of the guard
entered other trains for the purpose Of
searching the same, to see IL there were
imported laborers on them. This act
grew out OF the zeal to do their duty
well, as had given no orders to search
trains, and as soon as | learned that
such had been done, instructed General
Reece to advise Colonel Young, now
commanding, to not interfere with the
operation of the trains, nor to invade
them, but to only prevent the unloading
of imported laborers, which unloading
would at once bring about trouble.
Forty years ago such thing as lock-
outs or strikes were unknown in this
country. At that time we were wholly
an agricultural people and traded our
agricultural products for Manufactured
articles abroad. The sagaciOus business
men saw in the United States profitable
field for manufacture, and under our
system Of protection we have grown to
be one Of the greatest manufacturing
countries on earth. In this growth and
development, as our country became
more densely populated great labor CEN
ters grew up, as a result of great rail-
road centers and manufacturing Condi-
tiOns.
Finally, the question, which Is an old
one in the old country, of the rights as
between labor and capital, became an
ISSUE and strikes and lockouts began.
without discussing the question as
-, yv,b. Ia,
suited in the importation Of labor from
abroad to take the places of the striking
workingmen at home. This imported
labor brought to our country an unde-
sirable class of citizens, the criminal and
idle classes of Europe, such citizens as
were undesirable at home and who were
unable to secure employment by reason
OF their criminal or worthless characters.
Congress was, by public sentiment in op-
position to this system, compelled to
take up the question and pass a strict
law prohibiting the further importation
Of labor to this country.
"At that time there was no question
as between the States. But the country
did not quit growing at that time and
conditions have since changed so 1t be-
comes necessary for the better element
OF the laboring classes to have protec-
tion from the scalawag element of neigh
boring States, and as Illinois is, and per-
haps destined to be, the storm center Of
such trouble for years to come, the ne
cessity for affirmative action on the part
OF the executive has arisen in Illinois.
Believing, as do, that the senti-
ment Of a great majority of the fair
minded people of Illinois is opposed to
having our State used as a dumping
ground for the criminal and idle classes
Of other States, and for the further rea-
son that II were to allow this importa-
tion Of labor in these two mining centers
others would follow, which would lead
to the greatest mining troubles ever wit
messed in this country, have taken the
position that there shall be no further
10 1ahOy lnk T11trAgC