Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-04-27

DISCRIMINATION ana mumlclR01 OfA.
ership of Public Utilities.
Although it was prolonged until a
late hour, owing to a railroad wreck
which delayed the arrival of tho
speaker of the evening, the Debs meet
ing at the Center market house last
night was a complete success. Michael
F. Tighe, ex-president of the Trades
Assembly, was introduced and held the
crowd for a half hour in an excellent
talk on the general subject of organiza-
ton and the rights of labor. He was
still talking when Mr.. Debs arrived.
Mr.. Debs' address was excellent, and
his magnetic delivery and terse cpl
grammatic style, had the effect of hold
ing his audience to the close. He
spoke for more than an hour and a
half. 1t would be impossible in the
limited space occupied by this article,
to convey a comprehensive idea of the
scope of his remarks. He touched
upon the usual labor topics, but treated
most of them in an original manner,
and succeeded in calling forth frequent
enthusiastic applause. He was partic-
ularly happy in his defense of labor,
and in painting his word pictures Of
the condition of. the coal miners, and
the economic situation which is re-
sponsible for the existence of the
American tramp.
1t was $40 O'Clock when Mr.. Debs
arrived, in company with Messrs. A.
L.. Bauer and M. F. Tracy. Mr.. Debs
was at once introduced and commenc-
ed his address.
He said the aspirations of laboring
men were lofty and were underlaid by
the principles of universal brotherhood.
He said he was not unmindful of the
fact that there Is prejudice in every
community against labor unions, but
he asserted that large bodies of work
ing men do not go on a strike from
choice. When it came to a question of
strike or degradation he would say
strike with all your force" There is
a condition worse than being out OF
employment, and he did not regard the
man who would refuse to strike for his
hearthstone, his wife, his family, as
worthy the name of American citi-
zen.
Mr.. Debs next spoke of a local labor
difficulty as an arbitrary and unwar-
ranted assumption by employers of the
rights and prerogatives Of every citl-
zen. Would it be any more u%nreason-
able or unjust to prevent an organ1za-
ton of business men than to prevent
an organization of workingmen? La
Dor but follows the example set by
capital. Labor unions are a necessity.
"In union there is strength" Where
men are unorganized they are also de-
moralized. They invite and are certain
to receive the contempt of the society
in which they live. The trouble with
many is that they are satisfied to exist
upon the animal plane, with no higher
or more ennobling aims.
No government can help any man
who is unwilling to help himself.
Brush away the dust of servitude.
What can o do? You car think, and
all the courts of this country cannot
enjoin you from doing this. You can
think, and thought is revolution.
Shakespeare said, There is no slavery
but ignorance" WorKingmen who
fail to use their brains in their own
interest, must use their arms in the
interests of their masters. Mix a lit
tie thought with your work.
If you were to ask m to embody all
l would say to you in three words, l
would say-read, think, study.
If you are ever emancipated from
the thraldom of industrial slavery, it
must be by your W united efforts.
Having done the best you can for your
self, join the union that represents
your trade. If w~orkingmen do not or
ganize they will be crushed and ground
to atoms. You are a host if you only
realize it. All the world will help a
man if he only makes up his mind to
help himself. If you have in you the
genuine stuff, adversely develops the
latent matter and makes a man Of
you.
Mr.. Debs illustrated his argument
by using the local carpenters and
clerks unions as examples, and urging
Lie COllIpIeLlOH vi VI SdllZdt1OA III ONCly
trade. The next step he urged was
unifcation under the Trades Assembly,
in order that "one may be for all, and
all for one" He cautioned working
men to Danish all jealousies from their
councils. Not to do this is to thrust
the dagger of suicide into your own
vitals."
The century, he continued, is clos
ing in the midst of the greatest social
revolution the world has ever known.
Capitalization and organization are
the vital forces of the age. There has
been an industrial revolution in the
century. Primitive tools and human
hands have given. way to machinery.
A century ago labor enjoyed the fruits
of its toll. The more it produced the
greater prosperity. To-day the more
labor produces the less it enjoys. for it
means overproduction and idle factor
les. Mr.. Debs quoted from a poem of
Burns, and declared that there are to-
day multiplied thousands of victims of
mans inhumanity to man." He ar
gued that present conditions make
wage working continual and destroy
ambition, prospect and hope. He de-
clared that the machine, which was
designed to be of benefit to the toiler,
aY @n