Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-27
nRaANlzED LAR0R ANn SrRIkES.

ORGANIZED LABOR md STRIKES.
SOUTH OMAHA, Sept. 26, 1sO2.-To the
Editor OF The Bee: fully appreciate your
generous motive and sincere desire to be
fair and give all sides a chance to be heard
which prompted you to give my letter pub
licity, notwithstanding that many Of your
opponents persistently assert that you re-
fuse to publish any matter not agreeable
and in accord with your own views and
ideas. l thank you for the valuable space
so generously contributed making public my
personal views Of the Union Pacific strike
situation and the manner 1t is being con-
Quoted by those engaged on one side Of
the strife; for / feel sure / express the con-
~victions and sentiments Of a vast majority
Of the community when l assert that fire.
quent and persistent strikes fail to accom-
plish any good, but are against the spirit
Of true Americanism as we'll as detrimental
TO public policy, uncalled-for and inexcus-
able, and only calculated to heap misery
and destitution upon the families Of the
wage workers. at the same time disruptlng
business affairs, while the citizens are kept
In a constant state Of turmoil and excite
ment.
1 very much fear IL the imprudent course
being followed by strike leaders and labor
agitators Is continued there will be more
idle men in the near future than was ever
known before in the history Of the country.
Why? Because the large operators and
manufacturers whose patience is about ex-
hausted, will close up their establishments.
The employers Of labor in all lines Of busi-
ness are heartily tired of being dictated to
by the employees, and the whole business
agencies Of the United States will quit for
a season and take a rest, until the lahoring
class can appreciate good pay, good treat
ment and the general prosperity that all
are now enjoying. L heartily concede that
a majority Of laboring men mean to do right
and frown upon those false leaders who are
continually lying to mislead and deceive
them. And 1 am firmly convinced that a
man who Joins some Of the unions lowers
his manhood and surrenders his independ-
ence to a tyrannical dictum OF c~oercive
leaders.
You say hat some of the Union Pacihc's
shopmen VII left good Jobs and went out
on a strike were a long time employed by
the company and some own their homes.
Well, l don't suppose any of these were en-
rolled as pickets, ~intercepting and molest-
ing others who desired to work. II so, they
are surely blind to their own interest and
subject to serious condemnation.
One would conclude by reading your
II NANAS ina NhN chA INV 1NA AhOAo WILL
stituted the rank and file OF those who work.
1 wish to remind you that this whole ma
tion is made up Of a ~stupendous and siren
uous class of Industrial people, and the per-
son who won't work, is not entitled to any
abiding place on top Of the earth. All hon
est labor Is honorable. Even the ragpicker
and junkdealer follows a worthy calling IL
their business methods are conducted in an
upright manner, although the vocation be of
a mental character. There is u chance in
this beloved country for persons of all
grades in life to rise in their profession.
You say the avariciousness and greed OF
trusts and corporations should be checked
and prevented. Well, our worthy president
and his administration are endeavoring to
hold those combinations Of great industries
to account II they are guilty Of any wrong
toward the public or violation of the laws
Of the land. But what about that other
most dangerous Of all trusts, the organiza-
ton OF labor, who defy the laws Of our
country and arrogate to themselves the right
to destroy life and property and prevent
their neighbor and fellow citizen from work.
ing to support himself and family unless he
becomes a member Of their upion7
DAVID ANDERSON.
Labor strikes and lockouts are the nat
ural outgrowth Of the industrial revolu-
ton which has substituted machine pro-
duction for hand production. Before the
Introduction of steam and electric power
in mills and factories and before the
railroad took the place Of the wagon
train, skilled mechanics were in position
to carry on their trades with small capt.
tai. Apprentices became journeymen
and journeymen masters without de-
pendence upon large capitalists for sub
sistence. Steam propelled labor saving
machinery drove the great mass of me-
chanics into huge establishments in
which all individuality was lost and the
man became simply part of the machine
which turns out the modern factory
product.
To meet these changed conditions
labor had to organize for self-protectiOn.
The right of labor to organize conceded,
the right of labor unions to fix the price
at which its members will sell the only
commodity at its disposal-namely. brain
and muscle. must also be conceded. II
the tradesman can set a price upon his
merchandise, the mechanic and laboreI
> surely has the same right to set a price
and fix the conditions under which he
: will hire out.
D This is the bedrock on which modern
trades unions are built. The strike Ii
the only weapon with which organized
! labor can enforce its demands or protect
itself from aggression. All strikes are &
species Of industrial war. Such conflicts
: always involve self-sacrifce Inc suffer
' ing on the part of the workingmen, blu
whether successful or unsuccessful they
tend to benefit all wage workers, be
cause 1t is an indisputable fact that thu
fear of strikes impels employers to max,
concessions that otherwise they woult
y not grant
All labor conflicts carry in their traiI
T more or less law~lessness, which is de
a plored by all rational friends of labol
r just as wal and Its terrible consequence
e are deplored and abhorred. The s~o-calle,
Union Pacific strike is really not a strike
n but a lockout forced upon the shopmeI
by demands with which they could no