The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1899-05-23

OPICoiOO OOulo 80 heso OCcH uloucu
there has followed riot and in
surrection. Force that requires
the sacrifice either of life or
property is a disgraceful remedy
for either party in the contro-
versy between capital and labor
to resort to. But what is want
ed is a government that will give
labor equal protection with cap
ital and punish the crimes of
both capital and labor with equal
severity. The most radical de-
fender of capital in the whole
country will not deny that it was
the duty of the Bunker Hill
company to have joined the 9th
er mine operators of the district
and unified the rate of wage and
other labor conditions, and if
that had been done there would
have been no destruction of eth
er life or property. 1t is also
true that the failure of the Bun
ker Hill company to make this
nominal concession left the or
gained laboring people without
a remedy under the operation of
the government. The only
peacea BILE remedy known to the
law was the submission of the
questions at issue to the state
board of arbitration. This the
company fatty refused to do
even when so advised by the
governor of the state. The
Bunker Hill company spurned
every entreaty to peaceable
settlement of the difficulty and
courted war and got it. 1t is
unfair to place all responsibility
for forceful demonstrations on
the shoulders of labor until the
law grants to labor equal pretec-
ton with the organized capital
of the country. When capital a
few years ago sent it's hired
thugs into Jersey City and shot
down innocent school children
the United States army was not
sent there to protect the people.
When hired assassins murdered
and plundered the innocent
people of Buffalo there was no
army sent to protect them.
When Jay Gould went into Oma-
ha with his hired thugs and
climbed the polls of the Ameri-
can Telegraph company and cut
the wires and transferred them
to the Western Union and there
by committed a penitentiary of
Tense there was no army called
out. In fact he stole the whole
Erie railroad and forged a check
and drew a million dollars out
of a Cleveland, Ohio, bank, that
belonged to others and was pro
tected by Winchesters on a lone
ly sidetrack in his private cal
for the act. When Sheriff Mar
tin, with his band of deputies,
shot down twenty unarmed aud
defenseless miners in Pennsyl.
vania two years ago he flew tc
the army for protection and fol
weeks the civil authorities when
met at the guard line with Win.
cheSters and denied the right to
serve a civil summons, and when
finally he was arrested the min
ing corporations made a farce OF
the trial and he was given his
liberty and a public reception.
All these and hundreds of other
acts of violence and murder on
the part of organized capital are
fresh in the minds of the people,
and in all of them there has been
notable absence of protection
to labor. The placing of the
Occur d'Alene district under mar
tial law, the Intervention of the
federal soldiers, and the whole
sale arrest of miners and other
workmen and the refusal to al
low any mine operator to hire
members of organized labor may
for the time molly conditions,
but they cannot reach beyond a
temporary expedient. What the