Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-01-21
COME UP OUT OF the MIRE.

Regardless OF the coal strike COM
missions finding upon the disputed
point of wages, in view OF the exhaus-
tive hearings held, the report Of the
commission is destined to prove n of
the most helpful contributions to the
labor problem that has been offered in
the past twenty years. As an instance
recent remarks of Judge Gray and the
speech Of President Mitchell at the In
%dianapolis convention suggests that the
commission will report some things
of benefit in reforming modern strike
methods which serve to discredit the
labor union in the minds Of law abid-
iiG; people.
4 would be glad to see your order
come up out of the mire' said Judge
Gray, chairman OF the commission tc
John Mitchell during the strike hearing,
after listening to the stories of muir
aers. assaults, dynamiting and other
acts OF persecution and violence as told
IN HcUliy " ~
When Mr.. Mitchell objected to the
Judges words the latter exclaimed:
81 am waiting to hear of one instance
OF discipline among these mobs. i
have yet to hear of n man being ex-
PEELED from your union for these evil
dent misdeeds. I have yet to hear OF
one union voice raised for law and
order" Referring to the fatal riot
at Shenandoah the judge continued,
There was a crowd and as yet I have
heard of no evidence OF a disciplinins
voice in that mob. No man there said
Shame on the cowards.' No man that
II have heard raised his voice In be-
half OF the law and order Of the COM
munity in which he lived"
In partial reply Mr.. barrow, counsel
for the union, when asked IL ut would
be entirely consistent with the advice
Of the president of this organization
to allow a man to stay In the union
after being convicted of a crime, or
of violence, and OF preventing other
men from going to work." said: II
would say Yes. seven and seventy
times seven. / will say that I do not
consider that these men, who did these
things. were bad men. They were
done under the most terrible p%rovoca-
|tion and under circumstances Of dire
distress. I am not willing to believe
that these men are criminals"
That this reply would hardly meet
with public approval has been pointed
out by the New York World, which
s%ympathiZes with the miners side of
the controversy. The World says of
this inferred approval Of violence: THE
evidence goes far to justify this most
serious allegation that the union prac-
tically encouraged this reign of ter
ror by doing nothing-beyond YER
bally disavowing unlawful acts of vi
lolence-to put an end to it"
President Mitchell evidently felt the
words Of Judge Gray still ranking
lin his breast when he said in his In
ldianapolis address:
II want to say to you," said Mitchell,
..as to the matter Of lawlessness, that
being the president of a union, before
being a member of a union, | am an
American over and above everything
else. There is no man associated in
this investigation who could condemn
lawlessness stronger than 1. II I did
not do it because / was opposed to
lawlessness 1 would do 1T because it
initiates against the success of the
strike and against the success n adj
vancement Of the organization. I do
not believe lawlessness ever won a
strike. I believe that lawlessness to
La very large degree deters the men