The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-10-27
Personal LIBERTY AND STRIKES.
BY the Most Rev. John Ireland, Arch
hirhnr IL q DnAI

BY the Most Rev. John Ireland, Arch
bishop of ST. Paul.
The most sacred inheritance of the citizen
Is personal liberty. The right to employ
his powers as he wills, to dispose Of his
AFFAIRS MS he Wills, save only IN So far as
it. is limited by the rights Of others, or
the welfare Of the COMMUNICATIVE is ua.
lures gift to man. A men are born
equal" By nature no man is endowed with
authority over his fellows; no man Is war
ranted In depriving his fellows of one jot
or little of their liberty, Civil society, m
deed, IS superior to the individual citizen,
and IN certain circumstances may ahridge
his liberty. Civil society. Ioweyer. Is en-
doWed with this privileged ~pre-cmmruce
Tor the sole purpose of rendering secure
the personal liberty of its members by
fostering among them the spirit Of rccIp-
rocal Justice and REFRESHING attempts on
the part Of Solne TO invade the rights of
others. II a fraction Of this personal III.
erty is surrendered by the individual citizen
TO civil, society this is only with a view
10 the better protection of the remainder;
and, even then, what Is surrendered TO
evil society is what is strictly needed for
IT'S corporate life and Integrity, so much
ana no mure-so lnalienahiC by will of ma
ture and OF natures God is the boon Of
personal liberty.
Personal liberty is the sovereign end and
that personal liberty finds its safeguard
against anarchy, the deadly foe, whose
reign Is that OF might over right, of the
strong over the weak, of the animal over
Where personal liberty is vIolatcd-be
the cltilen who Is the victim Of lawless-
ness the poorest of the poor, the lowIiest
of the lowly- II civil society were TO toler.
ate, the outrage. II would hetray its mission
ana tortelt the trust OF its members who
of all.
desire 10 deal In particular with such
vlolators OF personal liberty as are not
nhirequently attendant upon strikes OF
usualis, when n strike Is entered upon by
a union, measures are at once taken to pre.
vent nonunion workmcn, or such union
workmen as may not he In sympathy with
the strike, from Offering their labor to en-.
ployers blacklisted by the edict OF the
Although the recent strike of the Amalgn.
mated steel association has been, In com
pQrlson with other strikes the records OF
Whlch are not out Of memory, free from
acts of violence TO persons or to property
and from other riotous excuses, vet numer.
Gus incidents have occurred which cnai.
lenge the serious attention OF the upholders
OF personal liberty. In the districts GOV.
cred by the strike hundreds Of men willing
70 work have not been allowed 10 work.
Tue approaches 10 the mills have been
picketed by relays of strikers. Nonunion
men seeking TO enter have been set upon
and forced TO %retrace their steps, under
penalty or bodily injury. When occasion.
ally by stealta and ruse n few succeeded
In evading the vigilance of the nicketinc
IneH. lueA were as prisoners IN 4 llll, not
darlng TO venture out and only with much
difficulty providing themselves with the
necessaries of life. At railroad stations
and In streets men known or supposed Ia
be nonunion men have been pelted with
stones, policemen being powerleSs 10 de.
fend them even by making a display VI
bludgecns aud firearms. In some eases non.
union men have been kidnapped and locked
up In hotels or empty storchouses: In other
eases they have been roughly handled and
badly beaten, specially harsh treatment be.
ing reserved for negroes who happened 90
appear on the scene, One Sunday morning
In Chicago a squad OF %nonunion men who
had been imprisoned during the preceding
week within their mill enclosures had the
hardihood to believe that they would be
mass 10 n neighhoring church; they had ia
run the gauntlet OF sticks and blows and
were forced to regain hurriedly their aiding
places.
In these and similar incidents the sur.
ferers were not merely those who were the
immediate victims OF violence and OF IN
timiQation, but the much larger number Of
people throughout the country who, were
II not for the menace and injury that
awaited them, would have come forward
and obtained employment.
j am not discussing the question Of strikes
In the abstract, apart from Incidents such
as / now record; much less am / discuss
ing the question Of labor unions, TO when
! could readily assign numerous useful and
praisewortny purposes. ! connns myself
to thoae acts OF violence and Of intimidS
ton which usually accompany strikes. Sucn
acts, / assert, we can not TOO strongly
Teprchate; nor eau we, for the sake Of pub
lie order and OF personal liberty, be too
jealous in awakening public opinion in con
demnafion of. them.
That such acts constitute utter lawlcss
ness edlcts OF legislators and decisions OF
courts leave no room for doubt. The Eng