The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1903-10-09
FROM THE STANDPOINT OF LABOR.

The Union Label newspaper
| in Tampa printed III the interest of
! organized laUor, in its issue OF Oct. 3,
contains the following article under
! the q lie, The Welfare OF the State"
There should be 10 conflict between
the mrcanic and the employer. For
people to teach such doctrine is con
| traTy 10 the spirit of civilization. 1t
| seeus 10 oe popular fad III some
quarters 10 loudly declalm ag ,inst
capltSi, TO vilify corporations, aud To
! question the Intentions of those who
are classeu a. capitalists. We propose
10 analyzs this proposition aud To get
| At the truth. lake the state OF Flor
ida FOR example. Twenty five years
! ago 1T Was All uudevelOped WILDERNESS;
property had no value; no industrial
| enterprises. The east coast, from Aug
Justine TO the present Palm Beach, was
| almost a total blank, so far az improve
ment is concerned. The life of the
wife of the average cracker was life
Of drudgery and toll and humiliation.
The man hunted aud tished; the child
grew up in ignorance, and the whole
state was one immense cow pasture.
Henry NJ. Flagler caUe--and saw
and conquered. AT his magic touch
the wilderness vanished and prosper
Gus homes appeared. AT the touch
Of his finger magic towns sprung up.
For the desOlatiUu OF the uubroKen
forests he exchanged the hum of
mighty industries. Fertile farms took
the place OF the cow pasture, aud he
bound north and south Florida to-
gether with bands of steel-the East
Coast railway. And his influence
did not stop here. The towns estab-
lished by his fertile brain and gener-
Gus hand gave promise of new life to
those settlers of the woods. Their
wives and children are no longer the
slaves of uOnOtouous drudgery.
Thrown into direct communication
with other people, lhey have taken on
a new life, and where before was only
hopeless life, now exists new life
giving promise of abundant fruitage.
To convert wilderness into homes of
Respectable, law-abiding citizen is to
shed halo around the whole human
race. And does it detract one iota
from the glory Of these achievements
to say that it WAS corporation money?
Not at all. Fairer man to organized
labor than Henry NJ. Flagler never
lived, aud the Union OF Palm Beach
can bear testimony TO this statement
ready at all times To meet them and
discuss matters of interest to both.
What Flager was TO the east coast
Plant WAS TO the west coast. With
GENEROUS hand he spent his money,
aud many II Union man in Tampa
owes his home 10 the start in life given
him 10y Henry Plant; for any man
who gives another continuous work
al fair pay gives HIM a start in life.
And these are not the only million
aires WHO have contributed to tie up
building OF The state In all sections
of the commonwealth are tributes TO
the patriotism Of these people, ami
snarl OF agItatOrs Is drowned In Tile |
hum of machinery and blast of whis. |
tie. The doctrines OF discomfort now
being preached throughout the cOun- |
try Is born of the envy of man, and |
is the product, the dearly beloved, of |
Anarchism. The class Of people who |
go about spreading disorder, sowing
dissention, is the class who never were |
property owners and never will be,
and they are menace to the material |
welfare Of the state. This is the most |
prosperous country on earth, and We |
have all the freedom we are entitled |
to. We are free to work, free to play,
free to instruct-to be instructed free |
to worship or revile; free to laugh or |
sigh. The very fact that these hui
man buzzards are permitted to spread |
their perEiciOus dOctrines-the very |
fact that they are free to try to dis
-. 8 II,