The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-03-30
LABOR MASS MEETING
Held Lust Night at the NnriSct Hall.
,IcSsrs. Mahon and Lyons Spoke.

2 Held Lnst Might III the Market Hall
Ncxsrs. MRhUn and Lyons spoke.
! There were several hundred present. som,
Z few ladies'. at the city hall last night In re.
, spongo to handbill TINT was circulated
throughout the city during the day calling a
labor mass meeting at tho city hail.
Two men stood at the main entrance to the
hall distributing cards upon which were
printed Il Don't Ride with Scabs.' In re-
sponsc To the request that these be placed in
tho hats of those entering the hall the audi.
cnce was well tagged.
Mr.. Mahon was late in arriving and to fill
up. the time. Frank X, Lyons. a young man
VINO Is a member of the Typographical Onion,
was asked to fill in the time, which he did
most accoptably. Mr.. Lyons lis fluent and
| interesting talher. He urged upon his hearers
| to be steadfast to their cause and the present
! strike would not be lost lie told the oft re-
peated story OF hall starved women and chill
dren being compelled to work in factories at
| starvation wages. He urged against violence
! and the shedding of blood, encouraging or
derry and practical methods lie contendcd
| that tho main point at issue was the right of
these men to maintain an organization for
| mutual protection He said the last prop
| ositlon OF the street car company. submitted
| through the citizens committee. demanded
| sntrifce of union principles He went over
| the details of the attempted arbitration by the
| eitizehs committee, claiming the employees
sonabiy be expected II was no longer a
question OF time or wages, but simply
whether organized labor would be recognized
or whether the old men would he compelled
to work alongside of those who had been om-
poyod to take their places. IL was simply
question Of corporate power the hand
and organized labor on the other, with the
power OF the banks, capital and the military
all allied against the rights OF the working
man. The maintenance OF orgaulzed labor,
said he is at stake. and the fight must be
/ no
cars can't do business without patronage.
The laboring element contributes 30 per cent
OF the patronage OF these cars; There is no
power on earth, not even the militia, to
force us to ride on them and by keeping off
OF them and asking our friends to do like
wise, We have the Instrument at hand with
which to win the fight. Upon the question of
law aud order, he contended that the com
pany was violating the United States law
whenever u placed u. S. Mail sign on a
car That did not carry the mail. but, said he
corporations are so accustomed to violating
the law no attention is paid to it. but let an
irresponsible hoy throw brick through car
window and the military is called out
Tho speaker continued at some length. till
II became evident that the audience was i'm
patient to hear Mr.. Mahon, when he re-
tired.
Before Mr.. Mahon spoke however. Mr..
Bnnner was introduced representing the
labor interest of Galveston, and he took occa. |
SION TO say that the laboring element of Gal |
weston was heartily in sympathy with the |
strikers pledged them their support and |
wished them success
Mr. Mahon prefaced his remarks by asking |
all the street railway men in the audience |
TO assemble at their hall Immediately after |
inc meeting as he had some important mat
ters to lay before them. He took occasion To |
refnte the charge that he was a foreigner and |
mad come down here simply to stir up a |
STRIFE He was an American citizen ana
came here at the thrice repeated solicitation
OF the Houston union. The street railway
men had voted the strike on and they would
y, nav to vote Il on before it would he ended
~ was hls business to go where his duty
called him. II Chauneey w Depew was
needed in San Francisco to help tho Wander
biits rob the people he went there, and In !
palace car Like Chauncey Depow II he thn
speaker. were wanted in San Francisco to
heip the people he went there too but his
method of going was different. While Depow
travelled across the continent IN a palace car |
he generally took box car.
lie was called an agitator. From the time
OF our savior down to the present, every man
VINO stood for the hettormcnt OF his condition
was called an agitator
lie referred to the letter of President Par
N, but made no attempt to answer IL further
than to critlcise the statement that a large
portion OF the stock of the city street railroad
company was owned by poor widows and or
phahs. He asserted thnt the proposition that
II cost more TO operate empty cars thnn 10
leave them In the power house idle and that
ms strike and the boarding of a lot of dude
soldiers had already cost the company more
money than to have paid the incrense of |
wages demanded for Mt least n year
lie read his telegraphic correspondence with
the governor and his proposition to arbltrntc
and asked who has violated the law? (Crles
or BALDWIN Rce!" from all parts of tho
haln, He claimed that the laboring mon pro-
teoted the law rather than violated IT, and
that u the country needed soldiers today tho |
iaboring men would be those who would he |
most relied upon and the first 10 respond |
This local fight had resolved itself into an as
sault upon organized labor We are willing
10 arbitrhtc, said he, hut the railroad com. |
pAny viii not meet on that proposition |
lilo could not say what would he the ultimate |
result OF the present strike. but ample ar
rahgements had been made TO continue tho
battle on tho part of the strikers
lie fsad telegram from Mr. Gompcrs |
saving that The American Federation of Labor |
was behind the atreet ear men OF Houston In |
securing shorter hours OF labor and would |
render them assistance
The speaker contended that the city should |
own and operate the street car limos then |
there would be no necessity for strikes as We
could settle our differences at the ballot boy | ,
In conclusion, Mr.. Mahon requested every ,
one In sympathy with the strike to wear the ,
card, II Don't Ride with Scabs. and he de- .
sired 10 thank n half dozen ladies who had /,
gone about the city during the day pleading !
with people not TO ride upon the cars The S
meeting was very enthusiastic and Mr. Ma {
with applause