The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1902-10-25
THE RIGHT OF men TO WORK.
Iaterfereace of Strikers With Men
Willing to Take Their Places
Changes in Labor Conditions

j. III. billiard, of Tulane Unlver-
sity. DIR. billiard is not only a
man who thinks but he is man
who feels. He is profoundly a
Democrat, but not that kind OF a
Democrat who affects reverence
for the rights of property and
ignores the greater rights of
man. This expression from the
pen of DR.. billiard is worthy the
careful perusal of every person
who has brain and heart:
Messrs. Editors-Mr. Hewitt
is q representative of the old line
of Democratic thought. He is
sincere in believing in individual
freedom and individual rights;
and so he is sincere in his indig-
nation at the sight of one work
ingman trying toprevent another
workingman from working. In
this he represents all very con-
sentative thinkers whose com
mon voice is: Let the working
man quit his job if he pleases-
that is his undou bted right; but
he has no right to prevent an
other workingman from taking
it, who is willing to accept the
conditions which he rejects.
This is an infringement of indi-
vidual liberty. 1t is undemo-
cratic; it is tyrannical.
All this is true, and, as we
have said, it is the natural, hon
est thought of men like Mr..
Hewitt, who try to be fair
minded, and are not conscious of
any partiality on the side Of
monopoly.
But permit me to suggest a
counter thought to readers who
are willing to be open minded.
In the past fifty years in this
country the conditions of labor
have enormously changed. Fifty
years ago no one would have con-
ceived of a situation which could
for a moment cause any ques-
tioning of the proposition enun-
ciated above. To-day, account
for it as we may, there are
thousands who certainly do not
stand on the side opposed to in
all efforts of union men short Of
actual physical violence to pre-
vent non-union men from work
that most of these would assent
to the thought that Federal
Judges have been unjustifiable
in their injunctiOns in these con-
ficts. Many feel thus, we might
say, painfully strongly about it.;
and yet they are 10th to surren-
der the proposition for which
Mr.. Hewitt stands.
What are the conditions which
have brought on this distressing
contradiction?
In the first place those who
have to seek for jobs have found
out that in the past quarter of a
century it has become harder to
get work than formerly. There
never was time, in spite of the
numerous strikes that are occur
ring, when workingmen valued
their jobs as they do now. The
ordinary worker of to-day is, as
a recent writer in the New York
Independent pointed out, almost
as inevitably tied to his job as
the Serf was to the soil in the
Middle Ages. He knows, there
fore, that if another takes his
job he will not find it easy to
step into other employment or
to get opportunities Of self-em-
ployment Hence it is almost a
matter of life and death with
him, especially if he has a family,
to hold his chance of returning
to the job which he has left. This
is the selfish and, we may say, if
you please, unreasonable side Of
the workingman' s attitude.
But, secondly, there is in the
mind and heart Of many a work
ingman that which has been
called "class of consciousness"
They feel for the welfare of their
fellow and seek to up
hold and uplift the general
standard of living for their class.
Such men know that when they
strike they are striking not only
for themselves: and they fully
believe that it is for the better
ultimate interest of nOn-uniOn as
well as of union workers that
employers should not be allowed
to play off one set of seekers for
work against another. Does
some one feel inclined to doubt
the truth of this altruistic atti-
tude among workingmen? Let
him inquire, and he will find that
there are nowhere else to-day
~f