Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-12

prccaution to prevent any deterioration Of
property and must abide by the provisions
The Violations OF the eight-hour law have
occurred in several instances, but In every
case where sufficient evidence has been ad-
has been strictly enforced thereafter.
The eight-hour law met with defeat and
under most peculiar CircumSt StRnCes. The
house passed the bill unanimously. 1t
failed in the senate principally by reason of
the actions of Senator Kyle of South Da-
kota, chairman of the senate committee on
education and labor Senator Kyle, at our
request gladly undertook to and did intro
duce our eiEht-hour bill in the senate He
first approved the bill, then procrastinated
the proceedings Of the committee then pro-
Noked opposition to it and finally submitted
a minority report against the bill which he
himself introduced. No wonder then that
u met Its fate, when Il received its death
| blow at the hands of its introducer. ! am
confident that If there had been an oppor-
tunity for the senate to have voted upon
! the bill 1t would not have been defeated.
There have been some who hold that our
etght-hour bill Is too far-reaChing In it's cf-
feet In answer to this We say that the ills
from which labor suffers are far-reaching
and the relief or remedies which we seek
to employ must of necessity be equal in
scope. There are many who propose remC-
dies for all the ills which the human family
IS heir to, yet they can have but little faith
in their propositions, or they would not
antagonize the adoption of the eight-hour
law from the fear of its wide scope This
convention should insist upon the passage
of its original proposition and hold to a
strict accountability all who have been or
who may hereafter be antagonistic to it.
We are all conscious of the giant strides
with which industry during the last decade
has combined and concentrated into the
modern trust. There is considerable diff
ference of opinion, however as to what is
regarded by many as an intolerable evil.
Organized labor is deeply concerned re-
garding the swift ana intense concen-
tration of the industries and 1t realizes
that unless successfully confronted by an
equal or superior power there are economic
danger and political subjugation in store for
But organized labor looks with apprehen-
sion at the many panaceas and remedies
development or to destroy the combina-
tions of industry. We have seen those who
knew little of statecraft and less of
economics, urge the adoption of laws to
regulate" interstate commerce and laws
TO prevent combinations and trusts and
we have also seen that these measures,
ments to deprive labor of the benefit of
organized effort while, at the same time
they have simply proved incentives to more
subtly and surely lubricate the wheels of
capitals combination
For our own part we are convinced that
the state is not capable of preventing the
development or the natural concentration
of industry. All the propositions to do so
which have come under our observation
would, beyond doubt, react with greater
force and injury upon the working people of
our country than upon the trusts.
The great wrongs attributable to the
! trusts are their Corrupting influence on the
politics of the country, but as the state has
wealth possessors we shall be compelled to
endure this evil until the toilers are or
ganiZed and educated to the degree that
/ they shall know that the state is by right
| theirs and finally and justly come to their
own, while never relaxing in their efforts
to secure the very best possible economic,
social and material improvement in their
condition.
There Is no tenderer or more vulnerable
spot in the anatomy of trusts than their
dividend paying function; there is no powlr
on earth other than the trade unions which
wieldS SO potent a weapon to penetrate,
! disrupt and, If necessary. crumble the
whole fabric. This, however will not be
unions Will go on organizing, agitating and
educating, in order that material improve
ment may keep pace with industrial deVe-
oDment until the time when the workers,
who will then form nearly the whole peo-
pie, develop their ability to administer the
all.
There will be no cataclysm, but a transit
tlon so gentle that most men will wonder
how it all happened
system. when the individual employer was
the rule under which industry was con-
Quoted, the individual workmen deemed
themselves sufficiently capable to cope for
their rights; when industry developed and
employers formed companies the workmen
formed unions; when industry concentrated
In great combinations the workingmer
formed the national and international
unions; as employmentS became truStified
the toilers organized federationS of all
such as the American Federation of Labor
We shall continue to organize and fed
crate the grand army of labor and with
our notices, fewer hours of labor higher
wages and an elevated standard of life,
we shall establish equal and exact justice
for all