Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-15
TIME FoR PLAIN Talk.

men and their employers. Nearly every
strike in which large numbers of work
ingmen are engaged is accompanied by
turbulence and bloody encounters be-
tween the strikers and the men who
have taken their places, and frequently
between sym%pathizing union workmen
and nonunion wOrkmen. The fray in
which a nonunion machinist imported
by the Union Pacific from Chi
cage lost his life in n shocking and de-
plorable but by no means an exceptional
incident.
Up to this time The Bee has re-
Trained from discussing the merits of
the Union Pacific strike, but the time
has now arrived for a little plain talk.
With the internal management of the
has no concern, and nobody in the COM
munlty has a right to interfere. 1t is
only when the peace and public safety
are menaced, or endangered, or when
the lives and property of the patrons of
the great railroad are put in jeopardy
that the state and the community would
be justified in entering a remonstrance,
or calling a halt.
Ordinarily, strikes are precipitated by
a demand for higher wages, resistance
to wage reduction or a demand for re-
dress of grievances, real or imaginary,
but in this instance no such condi-
ton existed. In reality, the so-called
strike of the Union Pacific machinists
and boiler makers is not u strike, but
a lockout. Up to the time when Presi
dent Burt issued his mandate, substl.
tuting piece work for day work, there
was not the slightest disposition on the
part of the men to quit their jobs. Mr..
Burt's piece work edict was practically
an order for every member of the ma
chinlsts' and boiler makers union to cut
loose from the union or leave the com.
pany's employ. In other words, 1t vas
a declaration of war against the ma
chinists' and blacksmiths' union.
Mr.. Burt knew that under the rules
Of the international union its members
L BIOhAbiLCu AlOul uOlhk plCCt WUIhg
and his order was nothing more nor less
than a deliberate effort to break up
the machinists' and boiler makers union.
Mr.. Burt certainly must have known
that the motto Of trades unions is IAN
injury to one is an injury to ALL" In
attempting to destroy the blacksmlths'
and machinists' unions at one blow Mr..
Burt also struck a blow at every trades
union in the land and assumed respon-
sibility for all the natural consequences,
including restitution by starvation, as
saults and bloody riots just the same
as the ruler of any country who de-
clares war against another country as
sumes the responsibilities of all its ter
rible consequences.
Whether Mr.. Burt is acting on his
own motion or under orders from higher
authority is problematic, as is also the
generally accepted opinion that the lock-
out Of the machinists and boiler max
ers was part Of a plan to get rid of all
the old men in the shops without any
apparent design for such cruelty. Pub
lie opinion in this regard may be ground
less, but it is nevertheless supported by
the fact that the men locked out by Mr..
Burt's edict were paid OF with checks
that Cancelled all obligations of every
nature the company may have assumed
to each individual. Men who had been
manned in the cOmpany's service, men
who had lost an eye, a foot, or part Of
their hand, were compelled to sign away
ali the privileges that had been granted
them or claims they might have had
by reason of injuries, and all the obli-
cations the company may have assumed
toward them.
MI. Burt insists that the change from
days work to piece work is in the inter-
est of the workingmen, but 1t is pass
ing strange that he has not been able
to convince the w~orkingmen that 1t is
their interest rather than the company's
interest. People who are not familiar
with the intricate questions involved
would naturally ask themselves how me.
chanlcs who have had an experience of
more than thirty years with day work
should be SO oblivious to their own in
terests If by changing to piece work
they could better their condition.
To the community at large the priva.
ton to which several hundred old citi
zens, who have erected homes in this
city, who have raised families In this
city, and who have contributed to the
upbuilding of this city, have been sub
jected without provOcation, Mr.. Burt's
policy certainly cannot commend itself
1t is equivalent almost to an order OF
expulsion and determination since Mr.
Burt has declared positively that he will
not recede nor ar%bitrate, not accept any
suggestions that would lead to a har
moniOus settlement of the difficulty be
tween himself and the company's EN-
ployes who are locked out.
mr. EnLEn Tn RnnSEUET ~