Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-09-13
BRYAN AT CHICAGO.
Pleads for the Preservation of the
Declaration of Independence.
Speaks to Labor Day C~eIebraters Up
on the Rights and Privileges of
Work ngmen Under a Republic
an Form of Government.

MI. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Il am greatly obliged TO the committee
for the invitation which enables me to par
/ ticipate in the celebration of Labor day
at this place. This day has been wisely
set apart by law to emphasize the dignity
of labor and for the consideration of those
subjects which especially az 4ct the In
terests of the wage Garner. The laboring
men constitute so large and so indispens-
able a portion of the population that no
social, economic or political question can
be treated without an Investigation OF their
connection Herewith. But there are some
questions which touch them Immediately
while others only operate upon them in a
general way.
The first thing to be considered is the
laboring mans ambition; what are his
aims and his purposes; for what is he
striving? The animal needs only food and
! shelter, because 1t has nothing but a body
to care for; but mans wants are more nu-
merouS. The animal complains When II
is hungry, and is contented when its hum
ger is appeased; but man, made in the
image of his Creator, is a three-fold Delng
and must develop the head and the heart
as well as the body. He is not satisfied
i with mere physical existence: neither will
he be content unless all avenues OF ad-
vancement are open to him.. His poss1bll-
tiles must be as unlimited as his aspira-
lions.
In other countries and in other ~civiliza-
tions, men have been condemned by birth
to a particular occupation, place or caste;
in this country each man, however or
wherever born, can strive for the highest
rewards in business, state or church, ana
these avenues Of advancement must be
kept open.
mo civilization can be considered per-
feet which does not plant a hope in the
breast of every child born into the world;
the nearer we approach to this ideal. the
better is our civilization. Those who COM
plain of existing conditions cannot be put
aside as disturberS of the peace. To seek
a remedy for every abuse of government
is more patriotic than to profit by bad
systems and then frown down all criticism
There should be no antagontsm between
those engaged in the various occupations,
and there will be none when all recognize
the mutual obligations which are due be-
tween citizens. Our desire should be, not
to separate the people into warning fac
tions, but to bring them into better ac-
q~uaintance and greater sympathy with
each other. The enmity which the poor
sometimes feel toward the rich and the
contempt which the rich sometimes mani
fest toward the poor would be avoided II
each knew the other better and both were
content to be guided by the strict rules of
justice.
The extremes of society are really not
as far apart as they appear. Those who
work for wages to-day may, under a good
government, be employers in a few years,
and the sons of those who are employers
to-day may in a short time be day laborers.
Since no one can saw posterity from the
evil effects of a bad law, all should strive
for legislation which will protect each cit
izen in his rights and in the enjoyment
of the fruits of his own genius, his own in
dustry and his own integrity.
"It is of advantage to the rich as well
as to the poor that the children of all nave
an opportunity to secure an education; for
education widens the individuals horizon,
increases his capacity for usefulness, null
tiplies his equipments and makes him in
every way more serviceable TO society
Victor Hugo has described the mob as the
human race in misery. Those who are
weli-to-do have a selfish interest, and
should feel a moral concern, in removing
despair from every human breast. As mis-
cry is lessened the security of property is
increased; human life is protected in pro-
portion as happiness is promoted.
why should the man who eats at a
weIl-supplied table forget the man whose
toll furnishes the food? Why should the
man who warns himself by the fire forget
the man whose labor in the forest or in
the mine brings forth the fuel? Why should
the man clad in the best products of the
loom forget the man whose calloused
hands make fine clothing possible? Both
the consumer and the producer are neces-
sary, but of the two the producer comes
first in point of time and in point of i'm
p~ortance. Shall the rosebud, blooming in
beauty and shedding its fragrance on the
air, despise the roots of the bush because
they come into actual contact with the
soil? Destroy the bud and leave the roots
and a second bud will appear, as beautf-
full and fragran as the first; but destroy
the roots and bud and bush will perish.
How can the wage Garner secure that
share of the earth's bounties and the gov
ernment's protection which he deserves?
The associations formed by workingmen
have. been productive of much good.
THE labor organization as we now find
it is the product of industrial conditions.
The Individual found himself at a disad-
vantage when dealing with the corporated
employer, and the organization not only
enables him to contend for his rights upon
terms more nearly equal, but it stimulates
him to study and understand the condi-
lions which surround him.
1.-The labor organization has been fore
most in advocating the reforms which have
already been secured. Several years ago
the secret ballot was demanded by the
wage earners for their own protection.
That ballot has been obtained, and through
its operations those who toll for individ-
uals or corporations are able to protect
their political rights and to use the ballot
according to their own judgments. This
is a long step in advance.
1.-THE labor organization has done much
to lessen the evils of child labor. No one
can visit the factories where children are
employed without contemplating the crime
which is being perpetrated upon posterity-
If there is any temporary economic adj
vantage in the employment of children Of
tender age, II Is insignificant when meas
ured against the permanent injury done
to present and future generations. To rob
a child of its school lays is bad enough,
but to bend its back by a load for which
only the adult is fitted is even worse.
THE labor organization has also contrib
uted towards the shortening of the hours
of toll, and it should not cease its efforts
until the eight-hour day is secured. APP
proximately, one-third of the "a hours must
be given to sleep; If another third of the
day is devoted to manual labor, only eight
hours are left for eating. for going to and
from the place of work, for the reading of
current news, for mental Improvement
recreation, social intercourse and domes-
tic life. Since the hours occupied in eating
and travel cannot be encroached upon.
every hour added to the days labor must
be taken from the time devoted to the in
teilectual development, recreation and the
family.
1.-The labor organization has been a con-
sistent and persistent advocate of the doc
trine of arbitration, although it is difficult
to see why the burden of this reform should
be thrown upon the laboring man. Surely
| the employer, If he would take a compre-
be as much benefited by arbitration as the
| employee. and because every prolonged con-
test between labor and capital brings in
terruption to business and pecuniary loss
to those who are in no way responsible
Tor the disagreement, society in general is
even more interested than employers or
employees. The desire for justice is so uni
versal that the public can be depended
upon to support the finding of an impartial
board of arbitration as certainly as it can
to support the successful contestant in a
law suit. The court of arbitration is one
| OF the certainties of the future, and when
1t Is secured and perfected, we shall won
der why its coming was delayed so long.
The blacklist, by means of which en-
| ployerS combine to deprive the discharged