The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-18
THE BLUFF THAT FAILED,

Shaffer is dethroned; his power is gone
ard now there are none so poor as 70 do
him honor. AS in the jungle, the wolves
of the pack have turned on their fallen
leader and will tear him TO pieces. He
has led them astray-caused them loss
and suffering and worst of all humilia-
ton, that he might gain a cheap and
temporary notoriety. Shaffer, the bold,
the arrogant the uncompromising, bowed
down with the chagrin of defeat, is pa
thetic The failure of great schemes al
ways has its pathetic side. The men
who went out at the call of this would
be dictator have learned a lesson which
they will not soon forget. There will be
much genuine sympathy for the rank
and file of the strikers who were infiu-
enced to quit their work by the base
misrepresentation of the leaders. They
have lost their earnings and many of
them will lose their jobs because they
surrendered their liberty and followed
leader who led them into an untenabIe
position. 1t was a bad piece of general
ship. Had such a blunder been made in
the military service, the commander
would have been court-martiaIed and
shot Shaffer will without doubt be de-
posed from his high estate but further
punishment cannot be melted out to him.
Shaffer enjoys the distinction of hav-
ing reduced the producing capacity of
this country many millions. His infu-
tornado or a drought. Should he live a
thousand years he could not repair the
damage he has done.
In his reckless use of power he spared
neither friend nor foe. BY his premature
firing of the magazine, he blew up his
OWN Amalgamated association He sac
nfced it upon the altar of his expert
ment. The indications are that the asso-
citation will not long survive the settle
ment of the strike. The tin workers will
go by themselves and work under the
wing of the Federation of Labor If the
main organization survive this attack of
Shafferism it will be without reputation
and with a greatly reduced membership.
Thousands of men, members of unions,
have become convinced by the manage
ment of this strike that their best in
terests lie outside of such organizations
To be subject to the orders of such men
as Shaffer is a slavery from which their
which Sheffer went into the fight and
with which he attempted to defeat the
trust" and the 100000 nom union work
ers, scarcely 1000 will answer to the
Amalgamated roll call in 1902
The idea is preposterous, but if Shaffer
had been employed by the trust to deal
to the labor organizations body blow,
he could not have served his employers
any better. From start to finish he ex-
posed his TANKS to the fire of the enemy.
Every position he took was untenable.
His cannon were hollow logs and his
powder crushed charcoal.
While the evidence, that Shaffer is a
dishonest fakir is overwhelming his in
fuence on the relation of labor to cap
itol may have the most beneficial re-
suits. Never before have the basic is
sues between the two forces been so
widely discussed and SO clearly under
stood. If organized labor wishes to meet
capital on an equal footing, 1t must make
itself responsible for it's acts and its con-
tracts. That fact this strike. has settled.
That constitutes Skaters unconscious
victory. With labor organizations amen
able to the law, courts of arbitration
will be able to settle all difficulties be-
tween employer and employee rendering
strikes unnecessary. Shaffer may be
the unconscious prophet of a. new era in
the labor world.