Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-05-04
THIS MAN WILL RIDE.

To the Editor of the Register
| olr:-In view of the fair, conciiiatory
] conduct OF the Railway Company at the
! council Committee conference, | want
TO take serious exception to a part of
your recent editorial. No matter if the
| company was somewhat arbitrary at
times before that, they did the square
| thlng at that conference and the labor
leaders did not, and you and | both
know IT. There are just two men, Mr..
| Ealtor, VINO are keeping up this strike,
and unless they change their attitudes
| pretty effectually, it is going to be hard
Ior fair outsiders to deny that the Com
| pany deserves support. The express
| sIons about disregard of public rights
and want of spirit Of mutual coercion
| tit those two men like a glove; but |
| think the Company deserves not to be
| included in any such statements as
long as it holds to the offers made at
| that conference. And what is more,
those of us who think that way have
come to the place where he are going
| to do our part to stop this strike, and
that is to ride ON the cars. That's
| what | am going to do, Mr.. Editor, from
| this day forth, at least until the Com
pany changes its friendly attitude or
the labor leaders who block the
way to peace get out of their stubborn
| fit. Public sentiment in this town has
| changed since Sundays developments,
| and l. am one of those who have had
enough of this rotten business and pro-
pose to see an end of it.
Now, gentlemen, you merchants, who
are the heaviest money losers, and you
out of town buyers and women and
workingmen who can't afford the time
or the strength to walk your long dis
| tances, and you men who are stockhold-
ers in the concern and are known to
have favored the Company's side from
the beginning, the remedy is in your
hands, and if you haven't the moral
courage to apply it don't squeal any
more about your losses. The only rea-
son most of us have had for keeping off
| the cars is the honest belief that the
mems attitude was fair. Now, my no.
| ton is that the Company's last offer is
a fair, square one, which the men ought
to accept. That means that for the
| present at least, the reason for keeping
| off the cars is gone, and I'm going to
| satisfy my own self-respect by using
them now; and | was glad to see others
| to-day doing the same thing Labor
union spirit is all right when not car
ried to unreasonable lengths, but there
| are some people in this town who seem
| to think that anything a labor union
asks is right, or at least has to be
| granted whether it is right or not. A
| union, like any other person or society
with separate ends of its own to gain,
| sometimes wants a little more than
| third parties say it is fairly entitled to,
and since last Sunday that is the case
| with our strikers here. | claim that
we are entitled to insist that the men
shall accept the last offer of the Com
pany, and let this state of warfare come
| to an end.
There's another aspect of the situa-
ton that is not very creditable to this
town. My notion is that any one who
! agrees that this offer ought to be ac-
copied by the men-and therefore that
| the Company is now right and deserves
| supports a good deal of a coward if
he don't use the cars. Yet there are a
| good many people in this town. the last
three days, who have fully come to that
conclusion and don't care to ride for
| fear of boycotting. Plenty of people
who condemn the recent action taken
enough to board a car. When a town is
fear-ridden to that extent it is pretty
low down. Some people who insist on
others riding ought to set the example.
| haven't seen any Of those people on
the cars yet, but | have seen some of
their statements that other people
ought to be riding. Well, if they
haven't the nerve, some other people
have, together with some ideas of self
| respect that are going to make them
stand up for themselves, boycott or
bust.
Those who still think the labor lead
ers did right in refusing these offers
that seem to me fair and liberal, OF
course ought to stay off the cars. But
| do beg those who think otherwise
at least not to stay off because they are
cowed and whipped into it by open
threats of political and business re-
yenges. Small-minded men are all
right if the Lord made them so, but |
hate to see big man act small. Let a
few more people have the courage of
their convictions tomorrow, and en-
| large the already increasing number Of
passengers, and it won't take long to
show the labor leaders what they
need to be shown-that the public re-
quires justice and moderation from
them just as much as from any one
else, and that they cannot count on
the support of the public unless they
yield when justice demands it. If you
| agree in this, take car tomorrow. and
show not only your willingness to back
your beliefs, but your good