Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-01-15
A HUGE LABOR JOKE
THE PEACE CONFERENCE AND ITS
THREE DOZEN PACIFlERS.
Hanna, sckwab and Other Friends
of the WorkinEmen Meet with Ln-
bor Union Leaders and Devise the
Industrial Millennium.

Especial Correspondence
In the saddest phases of human eX-
istence there are humorous incidents.
Laughter is wont to ripple across the
salty sea of tears, and none of the seri-
Gus business of life is immune from at
tacks by the funmakers. Even the Ia
Dor problem, probably the most seri-
Gus of all the questions that today CON
front civilization, closely related as it
Is to the dismal science" and fraught
with life and death issues to the mil
lions of the earth who toll, is not above
a Joke. AS Il matter of fact, this ire
mendously important problem has re-
Gently been made the butt of the hui
gest Joke of modern times. 1t was not
an insidious joke either, the kind that
slips stealthily up behind you in bath
slippers and tickles you in the ribs and
makes you burst into wild laughter be-
fore you can loosen your waistcoat to
save your buttons. No, sir; this labor
joke announced itself, though we were
not told how excruciatingly funny it
was going to be, some months ahead.
No diamond losing actress ever had a
better press agent than this labor joke.
Heralded by one of our great dailles,
with bells on and supported by one OF
the countrys most famous dtyines, 1t
has been doing a free tight rope turn
outside of the big tent about three
times a week for six months or more.
There's nothing like thoroughly work
ing up a joke before it is sprung to
fetch the merry laughter. The labor
iokemakers are on to their jobs.
The international peace congress held
In The Hague few years ago was
funny enough, though everybody didn't
see the joke until the Christian broth
erhood got three or four wars going,
but the labor peace conference recent
ly held in New York beat it out of Its
boots as a side splitter.
No favoritism was shown in making
up the New York peace conference;
there was nothing piecemeal about it
it was the whole thing at once. Every
body was represented, and most ev-
erybody was in it double. There
were representatives of labor, repre-
sentatives of the employing class and
representatives of the public, so the
laborers and the employers, whom, 1t
is not unfair to say, are parts of the
public, got there twice in the great
peace conference held in New York.
Well, these three elements, or three
parts of two elements, or two elements
in three grand divisions, Orwell, the
farpaH tyUn 1nvg md
night, and then, as there was moth
ing in their special line left undone,
they adjourned and went about their
respective businesses, and now sit is
to laugh"
Treating the affair seriously, there
was whole lot of speechmaklng by
capitalists, labor leaders and preach
ers, and If the newspaper reports here
in the city We're fair accounts of the
proceedings not single valuable
thought was contributed to the discus
sion of the labor question, and, with a
few exceptions, nothing that was new
was said One of the labor men did
make a statement that was news to the
writer, likewise news to those inti-
mately acquainted with labor affairs,
and it is probable the gentleman HIM
self was surprised at the unsupported
bit of information when he read it In
the newspapers next morning. His
remark was to the effect that he had
''never seen strike that could not
have been ayerted had the laboring
men and their employers sat down and
talked it over before the strike was
started" John Mitchell is bright and
brave man, a successful leader and is
near the top of the heap just now, but
the coal miners, for whom he conduct
ed one of the grandest fights they ever
made, may think John got little light
headed under the influence of the peace
atmosphere at the New York confer
ence However, we can excuse Mitch
ell when we note that solid old John
Phillips of the Hatters' union was so
far carried away by the eloquence Of
the employers and "the public" at the
conference that he apologized to Mr..
Hanna for once thinking that he QIan-
na) was ever other than a devoted
friend of organized labor, and Frank
Sargent during his speech referred to
INV friend Mark over there" l read
the name of the speaker over three or
four times to make sure it wasn't p.
NJ. Arthur of the Engineers instead of
Frank Sargent of the Firemen, but it
was Frank all right.
1t was too bad Chauncey Depew
was busy getting married and couldn't
attend the peace conference. There
would have been more fun If he could
have entered against Hanna for two
days "jolly" match. Depew is a past
master in the art of "jollying" labor
leaders and newspaper writer's, but
Hanna isn't so worse himself.
The public" had great deal to say
in the conference and said it in a way
that left no doubt in the minds of the
hearers that the public knew all about
the labor question. Lincolns famous
utterance that 'labor is prior to and
above capital and that capital would
not have existed and could not endure
without labor was discounted by the
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