The Billings gazette., 1901-08-13
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY.
Arch Bishop ireland Talks of Strikes
in General.

New York, Aug. 9-This afternoon
| Arch Bishop Ireland passed through
| New York returning home from the
Catholic total abstinence convention
at Hartford. To the representative of
the Associated Press, he said the re-
port in some New York papers to the
effect that he had been invited to
make efforts tending towards the set
| tlement of the strike, or that he had
expressed the intention of putting
himself forward in this connection
was utterly unwarranted and without
foundation. No one had suggested to
him that he might do any work in
that direction and he had never for
a moment imagined that it was proper
for him to offer himself as capable of
doing anything. Being further urg-
ed to express an opinion upon the
present strike and strikes in general,
he said:
''In common with all citizens, can
not but deeply deplore occurrences Of
this nature. A strike is always thing
most regrettable, and only under the
most extraordinary circumstance may
it be countenanced. A strike not
only inf1icts most serious injury upon
the parties Immediately concerned in
it, whether employers or employed; !;
1 h,,f 1icf1, &c tho h11c nf thn
country, interrupts prosperity, leads
the way to bitterness of feeling be-
tween classes and Injuries social peace.
'.The effects of strike weigh es-
pecially upon working men, who
through it are put out of employment,
and upon their families. Employers
far better than the employees can bear
the burdens resulting from strike ::
employers suffer large financial loss
but to them such losses are compare
lively small and are shares of their ex-
pected revenues, while the losses
brought to employees take from these
all that they have and open before
them the door to suffering that will
be long lasting, if not to starvation
itself.
| 'Of course, to employees entering
willingly into a strike the matter is
one that is their personal concern
and others have but to concede tc
them their legal rights to act in such
matter as they will. Men are mas
ters of their hands and of their labors
liberty is theirs to work or not to work
provided they understand the conse
quences that follow and are satisfied
to accept an endure such conse
quences. Not only indeed is this lib
lerty at all times thiers, but we must
, Furthermore grant that occasions may
arise and do arise when strike, how
ever serious the consequence for the
workmen, is the means, and at times
perhaps, the sole means, through
which the rights appertaining to then
+ and of vital Importance to their ulti
mate welfare, can be secured. When
= even under this aspect of things
!, strikes may be allowed, or even com
+ mended is question to be determin
, ed by close examination of the cir
cumstances of each particular strike
| am laying down general principle!
7 in ethics-not deciding the merits O.
+ any particular case. But while thu
t right to enter upon strike is, ant
must be conceded as right belong
I ing to the personal freedom of work
; ingmen, this much must ever be de
panded-and in the name of the same
principle of personal freedom under
which the men act who refuse to worl
that they who cease to work mus
in no way interfere with the liberty
of others who may wish to work. The
personal freedom of the individual