The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-11-29
The Present industrial situation.

To the Editor of the Journal and Courier:
In your issue of November 26 the
Rev. Newman Smyth states that he has
not yet reached the workman's point of
view in his discussion of the first prin-
ciples Of our present industrial ques-
tons. From the published report of
what the reverend gentleman said last
Sunday it appears that there needs to
be long step taken backwards to get
at these first principles.
In this sermon much was made of the
right of a man to work. yet no word
was said as to WHY a man had this
right, or how it should be secured. The
right Of a man to work is a natural
right, just as it is natural right of
a crow to scratch, or squirrel to jump
from tree TO tree and collect nuts, and
any Interference by crows or squirrels
of the best citizen order, hindering
them from the free use Of their faculties
on the only material provided for them
would be clearly a denial of their right
to life
Man is a land animal. Without &C
cess to land he would soon cease to ex-
tst, and any curtailment of his right
to get at the resources of nature to en-
able him to provide himself with food
and clothing must result in impoverish-
ing him exactly to that extent
This is the first principle" of our
present industrial situation and till this
is solved theNmere discussion as to the
rights or wrongs of trade unionism is
but idle talk. The fact is natural rights
have been violated and we are at war.
It would have been just as much to the
point for that arch conspirator Joe
Chamberlain to attempt to discuss the
ethics Of the Beers at Spion Kop as for
this gentleman to laboriously try to de-
termine how far union men can go in
defending the poor miserable right they
now have to job Gf they can get it).
DR.. Smyth saws: There Is touch of
pathos in the cry of a non-union min
er's child to his playmates, will be
John Mitchel's boy, only let me play"
There would be something more than
pathos-there would be something
which we do not like to contemplate
should it come to pass in this free land
should it be the case even in our own
city-that a man must call out to his
fellows, L will be anybody's man, only
let me work. " Can it be possible that
he lived in New Haven through the
last presidential election and does not
know that this is exactly what did take
place? That all over the country men
were intimidated by threats that if Bry-
an was elected they would lose their
"jobs."
There is abundant evidence in this
sermon to show that the reverend gen.
tleman does not fully appreciate our
present industrial situation, and why it
is that men will fight their own brothers
for Job" For all man has will he
give for his life. There is also album
dant evidence that we are rushing on
with accelerating speed in a direction
that certainly is not tending upwards
The war between Monopoly and Labor
is on, and no truce will ever be declar-
ed
1t rests with our teachers and leaders
to determine whether this war shall ter
inmate by Monopoly being abolished by
the same method it was established,
viz, statute law. or whether we are to
go on to a sanguinary conflict that to
all appearances is not so very far dist
ant. w. Trueman.